Because of the unstable geopolitical environment surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions placed on Moscow, Azerbaijan opted not to ship oil through Russia in May.
According to an unnamed industrial source, the oil will be redirected via Georgia and Turkey to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. "At the end of May, we'll determine what to do next," he told.
Despite shipowners' concerns about the safety of visiting this Russian port, Azerbaijan announced in March that it was ready to fulfil its duties to transit the amounts of oil agreed with Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline. In April, it intended to export 85,000 tonnes of oil via Russia. According to the source, SOCAR, the Azeri state energy company, and Transneft have agreed to negotiate oil shipping quantities monthly rather than quarterly.
Azerbaijan had intended to pump 340,000 tonnes via Russia in the second quarter of 2022, up from 320,000 tonnes in the first quarter, but the sides agreed to agree on amounts every month due to the unpredictable circumstances.
In early April, Caucasus Watch reported that Azerbaijan aimed to export 85,000 tonnes of oil via Russia in April, up from 80,000 tonnes a month earlier and the country was unconcerned about oil transportation limits imposed by Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft. Azerbaijan has been pumping oil through a 1,330-kilometer pipeline from Baku to Novorossiysk, a port on Russia's Black Sea coast, since 1997. Despite shipowners' concerns about the safety of visiting this Russian port, the country indicated earlier this month that it was ready to fulfil its responsibilities to transit the amounts of oil agreed with Transneft through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline.
Moreover, in early March, a source at Azerbaijan's national energy business SOCAR said that "oil exports from Novorossiysk are proceeding according to plan. Two tankers departed Novorossiysk with our oil in February, each carrying 80,000 tonnes, and another cargo of 80,000 tonnes is expected for March."
