Officials on Wednesday inaugurated the first section of a 1,760-kilometer (1,100-mile) U.S.-backed pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to Western markets. The presidents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey were on hand for the ceremony at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the Azeri capital, Baku, to open the taps for the first drops of oil to enter the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The US$3.2 billion (¤2.5billion) project, with a capacity of 1 million barrels a day, is the first direct oil link between the landlocked Caspian, which is thought to contain the world's third largest oil and gas reserves, and the Mediterranean. The pipeline, built by a consortium led by the BP oil company, passes through Georgia en route to Turkey. All three countries look to earn substantial revenue from the pipeline, through transit fees and royalties. "I do not doubt that BTC will be of use both to Azerbaijan and our neighbors. This pipeline first of all will help solve economic and social problems, but the role of the pipeline in strengthening peace and security in the region also is not small," Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev said at the pipeline opening ceremony. Pipeline officials said it would take up to a month and a half to fill the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline. The Georgian part will be ready after that, and then the Turkish stretch, which Turkish authorities have said should be filled by Aug. 15. It will take approximately 10 million barrels of crude to fill the entire pipeline.
