SOCAR Black Sea terminal starts oil transhipment for the first time

Black Sea oil terminal of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) in Georgia (Kulevi) has started of Kazakh oil transshipment from the Tengiz field, the terminal said.

"Transshipment of Tengiz oil has already started and by the end of the year it is planned to transship at least two million tons," the source said. Oil is supplied to the terminal by rail.

According to the source, terminal started oil transshipment for the first time since beginning operation. As a result of the started operations freight turnover increased almost threefold, hence it will be profitable not only for the company but also the local region - in the form of creating additional jobs and increase of payments to the budget, which is generally a significant contribution to economic development of the country, the terminal said.

According to Georgian Government, in 2009 the Kulevi oil terminal transshipped 2.1 million tons compared to 1.3 million tons in 2008. In 2009, the terminal involved 99 ships compared to 65 ships in 2008. The total capacity of the tank farm is 320,000 cubic meters, the capacity of the berths is 8000-12000 cubic meters per hour.


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