LONDON, Aug 20: BP Plc said on Wednesday export of Azeri oil from Turkey should resume next week after repairs to the $4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline damaged by a fire two weeks ago.

The line can pump up to one million barrels per day of oil, equal to more than one per cent of world supply, from fields in the Azeri part of the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan in Turkey. Its closure had supported world oil prices, which fell initially on news that it was reopening.

“We’ve taken the decision to start dynamic integrity testing of the line before a move to full operation,” said BP spokesman Toby Odone. “This will involve some limited and intermittent flow of oil through the pipeline.”

“For ship scheduling purposes, the lifting programme at Ceyhan will be updated to start loadings from the beginning of next week.”—Reuters