Once completed, the BTC will pump up to one million barrels a day of oil from near Baku, through Georgia and Turkey, and onwards to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
Speaking at an inauguration of an oil terminal, Khatami said, “There [is] no need for the multi-billion-dollar project, which will bypass both Iran and Russia. The Iranian route to transport Caspian oil is the shortest and the least expensive. The US, with its restrictive policy, is posing problems to other countries.”
Khatami went on to imply US support for the BTC was because it wanted to develop the Caspian as an alternative source of energy supplies.
The pipeline, due to begin operations in 2005, is being built by a BP Plc-led consortium at a cost of around US$3 billion. Russia is not keen on the BTC as it would prefer the Caspian Sea oil to be transported through its borders.
