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Oil companies put on notice over pollution liabilities in controversial Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline

DOSSIER ON COATING RISKS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO COURTS

Directors of the eleven major oil companies [1] responsible for the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline have been warned that their firms may be liable if the pipeline leaks.

Weeks away from completion, the pipeline, which is part financed by the World Bank and the UK Export Credits Guarantees Department, runs from Baku in Azerbaijan through Georgia to Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

Experts have testified that the anti-corrosion coating chosen by BP does not stick to the pipeline. Widespread peeling and cracking of the coating has already been reported in internal BP reports.

The warning to the 125 directors of the companies in the BP-led pipeline consortium came in a letter from UK, Georgian and Azeri campaign groups who have been monitoring the pipeline's impacts.[2] The letter notes that the coating has never been used elsewhere on a similar pipeline and that a UK company has alleged fraud in the procurement process.

Two contractors - AMEC and the Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCIC) - have been in dispute with BP over who is responsible for delays that resulted after the coating cracked as predicted. CCIC are threatening to take BP to court in London.

The campaign groups have compiled a dossier which they will make available to any claimants in Azerbaijan and Georgia seeking damage if the pipeline ruptures.

"Many of the directors of the consortium's parent companies may not be aware of the controversy," says Nicholas Hildyard of The Corner House. "Now they have been informed, we hope that they will exercise their duty of care and take appropriate action."

Corrosion experts have advised that the only course of action that would remove the high risks (and potential liabilities) of a leak would be for the pipeline to be re-coated with a coating that is fit for the purpose.

For more information, contact:

Nicholas Hildyard, The Corner House, 01258 473795

Manana Kochladze, Green Alternatives, Georgia, + 99 532 22 38 74

Mayis Gulaliyev, Ph.D, Center for Civic Initiatives, Azerbaijan , +99 412 401318

[1] The companies are: BP (UK); TPAO (Turkey); Statoil (Norway); Unocal (USA); Itochu (Japan); Amerada Hess (USA); Eni (Italy); TotalFinaElf (France); INPEX (Japan) and ConocoPhillips (USA).

[2] The letter was sent by The Corner House, Green Alternatives, Centre for Civic Initiatives. A specimen - as sent to Sir Peter Sutherland, chair of BP - is attached.