Ceyhan–Kırıkkale Oil Pipeline ( tr, Ceyhan–Kırıkkale Ham Petrol Boru Hattı), also known as Yumurtalık (Ceyhan)–Kırıkkale Oil Pipeline ( tr, Yumurtalık (Ceyhan)–Kırıkkale Ham Petrol Boru Hattı) is a crude oil pipeline between Ceyhan and Kırıkkale in Turkey. It is owned and operated by the state-owned company Botaş.

Background

The construction of the Ceyhan–Kırıkkale Oil Pipeline began in May 1983 and completed in February 1986. It was built by the

Tekfen Construction and Installation Tekfen Holding A.S. (Tekfen Group) is a Turkey-based holding company involved in engineering and construction, textile, food processing and other industrial sectors. History With foundations laid in 1956 by three civil engineers – Feyyaz Berk ...

. The -long pipeline crosses steep slopes of

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

. The pipeline was commissioned in 1986 to make the 1986-built Kırıkkale Refinery operational.

Technical features

The pipeline transports crude oil from Botaş Ceyhan Oil Terminal to Tüpraş Kırıkkale Oil Refinery for refining purpose. Botaş Ceyhan Oil Terminal is located in

Ceyhan Ceyhan () is a city and a district in the Adana Province, in southern Turkey, east of Adana. With a population of over 157,000, it is the largest district of the province, outside the city of Adana. Ceyhan is the transportation hub for Middle Ea ...

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

in southern Turkey on the northern coast of

Gulf of Alexandretta The Gulf of Alexandretta or İskenderun ( tr, İskenderun Körfezi) is a gulf of the eastern Mediterranean or Levantine Sea. It lies beside the southern Turkish provinces of Adana and Hatay. Names The gulf is named for the nearby Turkish city ...

at northeastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. Tüpraş Kırıkkale Oil Refinery is located in

Kırıkkale Province Kırıkkale Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey. It is located on the crossroads of major highways east of Ankara leading east to the Black Sea region. With its rapid population growth it has become an industrial center. The provincial capi ...

central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is borde ...

. The Botaş Ceyhan Oil terminal is the end point of the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline carrying crude oil from Iraq to Turkey. The Ceyhan Terminal has twelve oil storage tanks with each capacity. At the arrival point of the pipeline, the refinery has one storage tank of capacity. The pipeline's discharge capacity is or annually for crude oil of 23–47

API gravity The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water: if its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks ...

, equivalent to 7.2 million tonnes per year. In 2016, a total of 4.9 million tonnes (35,4 million barrels) were transported. The source of the transported oil either Iraq by the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Pipeline or local or imported oil by sea.

Oil theft

From time to time, the pipeline becomes subject to oil theft. In 2006, thieves were caught in Çakaldere, Ceyhan village, Adana after they tapped oil from the pipeline into a tank truck. Thieves were caught in the act the same year after having loaded oil to a

tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also des ...

from the pipeline in

Yüreğir Yüreğir is a district-municipality in the Adana Province of Turkey. It is the second most populated district of the province with a population of over 400,000, mostly concentrated on the east side of the Seyhan river, within the city of Adana. ...

district of Adana. In Yılankale, Ceyhan village, thieves caused a fire at the pipeline in 2007 as they tried to bore a hole in the pipeline. Damage in the environment arose through oil spilled out. In Kılıçlı, Yüreğir village, thieves were arrested in 2009 while they were loading a 20-t tank truck by a hose from a hole in the pipeline. In 2013, an illegal built pipeline in a length of was discovered between Adana and

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In 202 ...

. It was jointed to the main pipeline under surface. In 2017, fire broke out again at the pipeline in Sarıçam, Yüreğir of Adana as the thieves tried to install a valve on the pipeline by welder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceyhan-Kirikkale Oil Pipeline Oil pipelines in Turkey Energy infrastructure completed in 1986 1986 establishments in Turkey Ceyhan Kırıkkale