BTC: An Epic Feat of Engineering?

It is “an epic feat of construction” that has been “has been hailed as the first engineering wonder of the 21st century”. This is how the right wing Daily Telegraph describes the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline that opened yesterday. At the ceremony yesterday yesterday attended by heads of state and hundreds of dignitaries, Lord Browne, the chief executive of BP, described it as an “historic achievement”. 

Also addressing the ceremony, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the BTC project an “engineering miracle” that “will reshape the future of our region”.

To mark the occasion, the Georgian National Bank ordered a special coin minted in commemoration of the official opening. Roman Gotsiridze the President of Georgian National Bank said at the official opening: “It is a unique project and with it Georgia will become a really important partner for the world in energy supplies”.

The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyeva who also spoke at the ceremony that he wanted “the oil to bring peace, progress and cooperation to Azerbaijan, and better our people’s well-being”.

That I am afraid remains a pipe dream.