The special representative of the US State Department for the Caspian region ambassador Steven Mann also took part in the event and said in his speech, “We knew that the pipeline project would be realized. Many people doubted the realization of the project. I hope they have changed their mind. The project will be completely realized in a few months. This is a wonderful project for Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia. The United States is proud of supporting the project.”

Speaking at the ceremony, head of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Natik Aliyev noted that more than 80% of the pipeline in Azerbaijan has already been laid and that more than 70% of that is already underground. Due to security reasons, BTC is being buried under the ground. The 1740 km-long and almost $3 billion BTC pipeline is supposed to be completed in early 2005 to carry so-called “main oil” from Azerbaijan’s Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil fields to Ceyhan, the Turkish port in the Mediterranean sea. ACG reserves are estimated at 4.3 billion barrels, and operated by a BP-led consortium of foreign oil companies. It will have the capacity of exporting up to 1 million barrels of oil per day.

According to the intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, different companies are responsible for construction works in each of the three host countries. In Azerbaijan, BTC’s construction was undertaken by the Greek company CCIC.

Despite the fact that the length of the pipeline through Georgian territory is less than that in Azerbaijani territory, construction works in Georgia lag behind the schedule due to a month-long stop in the construction works a few months ago. Georgian President Saakashvili ordered to freeze the construction works, citing the concerns of the Georgian government about environmental security around the pipeline, specifically in the area of Borjomi, known for its valuable mineral springs. Political analysts labeled this decision as a gamble to either extract more financial gains from BP or to pressure the United States over the resolution of the South Ossetian conflict.

BTC’s entry into the final stage of the completion is a major victory for its supporters, including the U.S. administration and a blow to those political forces that were against it and called it “economically non-profitable and politically dead.” With oil prices high as never before, Caspian oil will continue to play a major role in diversifying the energy supply of the United States and Western Europe. After the completion of the BTC, the construction of the South Caucasian Gas Pipeline, to run parallel to BTC up to Erzurum in eastern Turkey, will be launched.

At the same time, with the near completion of the pipeline, the issue of its security is also high on the agenda. Azerbaijan has experienced problems with terrorism since its independence. Buses, the Baku metro, apartments and oil pipelines have been targeted on several occasions – a total of 32 terror acts have taken place in the country since independence. Different criminal and political groups have used terrorism to achieve their goals. Such international terror groups as the PKK and Al-Qaeda have threatened the destruction of oil pipelines, should their political demands not be met. The PKK even threatened to blow up the BTC pipeline. Besides, the ongoing territorial dispute with Armenia, the possibility of the resumption of military activities in Nagorno-Karabakh – just 30 km away from the BTC pipeline – further increases the risk of the pipeline. Speaking at the Azerbaijani-Georgian border, Ambassador Mann once again noted the importance of BTC’s security. “Security of the pipeline is a serious problem. We seriously approach this issue. Both the consortium and the countries must work seriously on this issue,” he said.

Some media outlets and political analysts in Azerbaijan speculated that the security of BTC might become a good excuse for the U.S. to bring in troops or bases into Azerbaijan. The possibility of U.S. military bases in Azerbaijan was met with anger and frustration from Iran and Russia, who have lately used harsh rhetoric to pressure official Baku.