Oil and the search for peace in the South Caucasus: The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline

This report analyses the interaction between the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and its political context in the South Caucasus, with particular reference to the frozen conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

This report sheds light on the nature of the relationship between the oil industry and conflict in a region that has been unstable since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s – with a particular focus on the BTC pipeline currently being built to transport oil from the Caspian to the Mediterranean.

The report recognises that construction of the pipeline is largely the responsibility of BTC Co. set up for this purpose, but directs its recommendations and analysis to BP, the operator of the BTC pipeline, as well as the largest stakeholder in the project and region, and therefore perceived as the company with highest responsibility for addressing conflict-related issues.

The report is most comprehensive in its analysis and recommendations relating to Azerbaijan. Resource constraints prevented similarly in-depth analysis of Georgia and Turkey, although the report does address these regions within its handling of international and regional conflict dynamics.