British oil major BP is pledging millions of dollars to Georgia as part of the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline

British oil major BP is pledging millions of dollars to Georgia as part of the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, Prime Minister Zurab Jvania and the company said. The BTC pipeline, which will take oil from Azerbaijan's side of the Caspian Sea across the Caucasus to the Mediterranean, bypassing Russia, is being built by a BP-led consortium. The project has sparked protests over environmental concerns, including the fact that it is being built in an earthquake-prone area. "We are quite satisfied that BP had studied all our demands," Jvania said the day after visiting the controversial portion of the project in the southwestern region of Borjomi with BP representatives, including the head of BP-Azerbaijan, David Woodward. "This portion of the construction particularly troubles us. A natural reserve is located here and we have done everything so that BP provides all the possible guarantees to preserve the ecology of this area," the prime minister said. "BP is ready to add 10 million dollars to the current budget aimed at guaranteeing the security of the pipeline," he said. The British company said in a statement that six million dollars' (4.8 million euros') worth of aid would be provided for security -- notably including the delivery of vehicles for the local law enforcement forces -- and an additional sum of one million dollars per year for "maintenance support" for the life of the pipeline.