Ceyhan District Emerges as Alternative Oil Hub Amid Strait of Hormuz Risks

Türkiye's Ceyhan district is emerging as an alternative oil hub due to increased risks in the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global oil supplies. The region has significant pipeline, port, and storage infrastructure, making it a potential center for international oil and petroleum products trade. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar aims to turn Ceyhan into a major regional trading and pricing center.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline transports an average of 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Azerbaijan to Ceyhan, while the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline has a transport capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day. These routes create an oil trade potential of 3 million to 3.5 million barrels per day in Ceyhan.

The Silopi-Ceyhan pipelines have a daily oil transport capacity of 1.5 million barrels, which could enable crude oil above Türkiye's own needs to be brought into the country and shipped to world markets through Ceyhan.