BP and the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline

BP

BP is building a huge new oil pipeline through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. The pipeline is likely to:

Worsen climate change
Increase oil spills
Cause social strife for local people

If BP is so committed to a green future, why is it investing in a dirty oil project with a 40 year lifespan?

Baku-Ceyhan pipe dream...

Map showing the route of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline

The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline will stretch from the Caspian Sea in the East to the Mediterranean in the West.

Did you know?

Each year, the pipeline will transport oil whose impact on climate change will be the equivalent to the pollution from every power station in the UK.

Friends of the Earth

BP has signed agreements with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey which make it exempt from any laws - including environmental and labour - that may affect its profits.

The needs of BP, such as its demand for water, will be put above those of local people.

...becomes a nightmare

As predicted, BP's pipeline is already causing problems:

Poor health and safety
Inappropriate materials and construction methods causing enviornmental, health and safety risks.
Human rights abuses
A Turkish campaigner has allegedly been tortured because he spoke out against the pipeline.

Friends of the Earth says

BP should stop work on the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline until it can guarantee environmental standards and human rights will be met.

Resource

Some common concerns
(PDF - 2.38MB) Nov 2002
An analysis of how and why BP are proposing to build the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and an exploration of its likely impacts.

Also available:

Executive Summary (PDF - 179K)
Timeline (PDF - 280K)

Baku-Ceyhan campaign
News, campaign actions and indepth analysis of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project

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Last modified:
Menu: Oct 2007
Content: Mar 2006