The total power to be generated by the units will be approximately 100MW. This new pipeline will carry Caspian Sea crude oil from Azerbaijan, via Georgia, to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The pipeline will be of crucial importance for delivering the landlocked oil and gas resources of the Caspian to the European and Western markets by avoiding the environmentally-sensitive and congested Bosporus Strait.
The pipeline in Turkey represents some 1070km of the total length of 1790km, and the four pumping stations will be at elevations of 1600m to 2140m above sea level. The ramp-up of the flow in the 42-in pipeline will start moderately in 2005 by some 10-20% of the maximum flow, which will eventually be 1million brl/d in 2015. The first oil to be pumped will come from the giant Azeri-Chirac-Gunesli oilfields offshore the Azerbaijan coastline.
The order consists of Wartsila 34SG gas-fuelled engines, speed-increasing gearboxes, and centrifugal crude oil pumps. The natural gas to the stations will be supplied via a gas pipeline running in parallel to the crude oil pipeline. The entire Turkish section of the pipeline with pumping stations will be constructed and operated by Botas Pipeline Co Turkey.
Wartsila will deliver the units during 2003, starting in the late summer, with the final delivery being at the beginning of 2004. The operation of BTC pipeline is planned to start during the first quarter of 2005.
