The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and gas pipeline is a 1,768 km long crude oil pipeline stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second longest oil pipeline in the world and passes through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. IFC has invested $250 million since 2003 and the total project cost is approximately $3.6 billion. The project is operated by BTC Co., which comprises a consortium of 11 partners. To date, CAO has received 33 complaints in relation to the project ranging from individuals to communities to local organizations. On July 22, 2004, the CAO received a complaint from Tsalka residents claiming that a pipeline construction work camp in their village had caused homes to flood, due the absence of adequate storm water management during construction of the camp, and an increase in the impermeable surface area in the locality.

The CAO accepted the complaint on August 2, 2004, and an assessment report was released on November 24, 2004. The CAO recommended that BTC Co.’s and their subcontractors’ grievance recourse mechanism process be streamlined. After follow-up inquiries, CAO found that BTC Co. and its subcontractor, Spie-Capag and Petrofac Joint Venture (SPJV), had responded to some of the complainants’ claims by compensating some individuals and repairing municipal roads and ditches.