Turkey’s BOTAS to Quadruple Ceyhan Crude Storage Capacity

Turkey’s BOTAS plans a major expansion of crude storage at Ceyhan, strengthening the hub’s role in regional oil flows and pipeline-linked exports.

(Reuters) — Turkish oil and natural gas pipeline operator BOTAS will make an investment to quadruple its crude oil storage capacity to 45 million barrels at its facilities in Ceyhan in the eastern Mediterranean, a newspaper reported.

BOTAS chief executive Abdulvahit Fidan was quoted as saying by Turkiye newspaper that the crude oil tank farm project in Ceyhan, where the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipelines connect, will increase storage capacity to 45 million barrels by 2031. It currently stands at 11.1 million barrels.

The paper cited Fidan as saying at an energy conference on Saturday that the tank farm project will increase Turkey's resilience to energy crises, enabling it to play a more decisive role in regional energy markets.

According to the paper, Fidan said the project will be implemented in several phases, with construction of the first six tanks beginning this year before being commissioned in 2028. All phases will be completed in 2030-31.

"This multi-year plan will not only increase Turkey's energy storage capacity but will also create a critical buffer mechanism against supply shocks," Fidan was also quoted as saying.