BTC Pipeline Plans Finalized

The board of directors of the BTC Co, the contractor for the construction and exploitation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline held their regular session in London. The session discussed "the final features" in the run-up to the signing of agreements between the BTC Co and international finance institutions on the allocation of credits for the construction of the BTC project. According to preliminary data, this should take place in Baku on 3 February, the press service of BP-Azerbaijan has reported.

It is expected a single common package of 27 agreements will be signed with the creditors. The total volume of loans for the implementation of the project will amount to 2.6bn dollars with interest. The construction of the BTC oil pipeline by and large will require 2.9bn dollars. The overall cost of the project is 3.6bn dollars, including the cost of oil required to fill the oil pipeline and interest rate.