25-08-08 Iran, which has long aspired to be the transit route for Caspian crude, has received its first cargo from Azerbaijan, saying the shipment was made following the August 5 explosion on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
The cargo was received and linked the Azeri decision to ship crude through Iran to the conflict in Georgia and the explosion that halted exports through the BTC pipeline, saying the Azeris had responded to "a threat to strategic energy supplies."

"Baku exported its oil via Iran after the explosion and conflict [in Georgia] disrupted its routes through Turkey and Georgia," a report said.
"Realizing Iran's unique strategic situation, specific facilities to access-free waters, remarkable railway system and oil terminals in Neka, Amir-Abad and Anzali ports, and its oil storage tanks on the transit route of fuel to Turkey and Iraq, the Azerbaijan Republic has preferred Iran as a proper route to export its oil to the world's markets," the report said.

Iran has a swap agreement with Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan under which it receives 150,000-170,000 bpd of Caspian crude at the northern Neka port and runs it in Iranian refineries. Under the swap deal, it exports an equal amount of similar quality crude oil from its southern terminals to their customers.
Iran could increase the volumes of crude to 500,000 bpd under the swap deal, putting the imported oil through its northern oil refineries and exporting an equivalent volume from its southern ports. Iran can export 200,000 bpd of Caspian and Central Asian crude and, with minimal cost to the country, can raise that figure to 500,000 bpd.

Iran lobbied hard to host the Caspian export pipeline but the US backed the Baku-Ceyhan route for political reasons despite the higher cost of the project.