The reopening of BTC pipeline remains unclear as repair continues

BP, its partners and Botas International Ltd., Turkey's state pipeline operator, are examining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to establish how long repairs will take, Ebru Akdogan, a spokeswoman for BTC Co. in Ankara, told Bloomberg news on Friday.

 

"We don't know the extent of the damage and can't say whether the assessment will finish in a couple of days or not," she said.

 

Turkey's Energy Ministry expects the BTC pipeline, which can carry 1 million barrels a day, to resume operations in a week, a spokesman earlier said.

 

The blaze erupted on the pipe, which links Azerbaijan through Georgia with the Turkish port of Ceyhan, on Aug. 5 after a blast in the Erzincan province.

 

Platts news agency had reported an unanimous Turkish officials confirmed the blast was caused by a terrorist attack but the officials, who speak on the record, insist there is no sign the fire was caused by a bomb. The PKK claimed the responsibility.Â

 

The incident came just before the clashes erupted between Georgia and Russia over the South Ossetia conflict. Officials have said the clashes had no impact on the operation of BTC as it was already closed due to the blast.

 

It is not clear whether the clashes would have affected the oil flow if it was not closed as some of the other pipelines that passed through Georgia was shut down due to security concerns.

 

OIL EXPORTS THROUGH RUSSIA

Another pipeline, which passes through Georgia to the Black Sea port of Supsa, is closed for a fourth day because of security concerns, a BP spokeswoman in Baku, Azerbaijan, told Reuters.

 

BP, StatoilHydro ASA and partners had to cut production at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil and Shah Deniz natural-gas fields in the Azeri part of the Caspian Sea after halting the BTC and Baku-Supsa pipelines.

 

Shippers declared force majeure on exports from the Supsa and Ceyhan ports, a legal clause that exempts them from meeting contracted deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.

 

Oil is now only being transported from Azerbaijan through the Baku-Novorossiysk link to the Russian Black Sea coast and in rail cars. It is not clear where the rail cars are being directed to.

 

Rail shipments across Georgia to Black Sea oil terminals were halted after Russian forces seized the central Georgian transport city of Gori, Georgian Economy Minister Eka Sharashidze said on Friday.

 

BP is not aware of any damage to its pipelines in Georgia. The South Caucasus natural gas pipeline, which runs parallel to the BTC oil link, is continuing fuel exports to Georgia and Turkey, after it resumed pumping yesterday following a two-day halt, she said.

 

Turkey had increased imports of gas from Iran and from Russia to compensate for the shortfall from the South Caucasus pipeline, the Energy Ministry said last week.