Page 58 - GEORptFeb22

9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
BTC marks 500mn tonnes of oil exports
Georgian investor confirms works on Kulevi refinery begin next year
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil export pipeline, operated by BP, has achieved the milestone of 500mn tonnes of oil in total from the Sangachal terminal near Baku across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Ceyhan.
"The milestone was achieved on 12 December when the 500 millionth tonne of Caspian crude flowed through the pipeline [and] was loaded on the 4,922nd tanker named Nordorse, which was a joint SOCAR lifting, and departed for Trieste (Italy)," the statement released by BP said.
“The 500mn tonnes of oil exports is a remarkable milestone that winds up 15 years of steady and efficient operations of BTC. After so many years the pipeline continues to be the major artery of energy exports in the region serving as a strategic direct link between the landlocked Caspian and the Mediterranean, which has easy access to the markets all over the world," Gary Jones, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, said.
The BTC Co. shareholders are: BP (30.1%); AzBTC (25.00%); MOL (8.90%); Equinor (8.71%); TPAO (6.53%); Eni (5.00%); TotalEnergies (5.00%), Itochu (3.40%); Inpex (2.50%), ExxonMobil (2.50%) and ONGC (BTC) Limited (2.36%).
Georgian company Phasis Oil, set up by entrepreneur Gia Shavdia with the support of the Multiplex investment company founded by local businessman Levan Kacharava, confirmed the start of the construction works for an oil refinery in Kulevi next year.
The construction of the refinery, with a capacity of 4 million tonnes per year, was supposed to start in 2021. The refinery is expected to have 98% depth of processing and produce Euro 5 and 6 gasoline and diesel and thus reduce Georgia's import needs for oil products by 15%-20%, according to S&P. Shavdia told BMG that the construction of the plant was initially scheduled to begin in 2021, but the pandemic delayed the developments.
"We are at the design stage and we have already moved to the licensing stage. We lost a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is nothing we can do about it. Therefore, we will not be able to commission the refinery in 2024, but in 2025. We have already written to the National Agency for State Property and the government to defer the investment commitment. They are aware of our plans," Shavdia said.
According to Gia Shavdia, Phasis Oil plans to invest $1.2bn in the construction of an oil refinery.
The 599,970 square metres of land in Kulevi for GEL1 was sold to Phasis Oil with a clause providing for at least $120mn investments.
9.2.2 Aviation corporate news
Georgian Airways files for insolvency, put up for sale
Georgia’s national airline, Georgian Airways, has been put on the block after the carrier filed for insolvency. Listed for an asking price of $150mn, the 28-year-old airline said that the pandemic-induced collapse of air travel forced the company to the verge of bankruptcy.
Since 1993, “we have proudly flown under the Georgian flag. We have not stopped flying even in the hardest periods for Georgia”, the company said in a January 18 statement. “But the air travel industry has been hit hard by the
58 GEORGIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com