BP is on track to hand ‌over the running of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR from July 1 as part of ​a contractual obligation, British energy major said on Tuesday.

Operational since 2006, the ​pipeline has the capacity to move more ⁠than 1 million barrels per day. It ​is designed to deliver oil from the Caspian ​Sea to the Mediterranean, bypassing politically unstable regions, including Iran and Russia's Caucasus.

Giovanni Cristofoli, BP's regional president ​for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, announced the ​transfer in a statement, stressing that it was not about ‌BP ⁠divesting and that BP was "excited" to see SOCAR take over as the pipeline's operator.

BP did not reply to a request for comment ​on the ​nature of ⁠the contractual obligations cited in the statement and what the move ​means for BP's stake.

State oil firm ​SOCAR ⁠owns 32.97% of BTC via its AzBTC subsidiary. BP has a 30.1% stake, with the remainder ⁠held ​by eight other stakeholders.