New Reports find that BTC pipeline is unsafe

24 May 2005

Two reports released on May 23, ahead of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline 'opening' ceremony in Baku, reveal significant concerns regarding the environmental and social damage being caused by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) backed project in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

As western dignitaries gather to celebrate the initial flow of Caspian oil - although the Georgian section of the pipeline is still incomplete - local and international environmental groups pointed to the disconcerting findings from the field and believe that there is considerable unfinished BTC business.

The reports produced by CEE Bankwatch Network, Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland, Les Amis de la Terre, France, and Green Alternative, Georgia, National Ecological Center for Ukraine, summarise information obtained during fact-finding missions to Azerbaijan and Georgia in October 2004. The reports come only four days after peaceful demonstrators in Baku were forcibly stopped by the police.

The Georgian report contains leaked documents detailing disputes between the Georgian Government, BP and International Financial Institutions regarding some of these safety concerns, and overall the two reports reveal a catalogue of unresolved problems with the BTC project such as environmental risks and compensation not being adequately addressed.

An executive summary and full copies of the reports are available here:

• Third International NGO Fact Finding Mission on BTC: Georgian Section, Bankwatch, October, 2004 (Acrobat pdf)
• Third International NGO Fact Finding Mission on BTC: Azerbaijan Section Bankwatch, October, 2004 (Acrobat pdf)

The leaked documents are available at:

• BTC leaked documents on safety of Georgian Section , Bankwatch website, (Acrobat pdf)