BP starts Georgia gas pipeline as Russia withdraws

14 August 2008 11:19  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--BP has restarted its main gas pipeline running through Georgia as Russia started to pull troops out of the Caucasus state following a ceasefire, the energy major said on Thursday.

 

The South Caucasus Pipeline, which BP operates from the Azerbaijan capital Baku through Georgia to the Turkish border, was shut down on Tuesday due to security concerns.

 

Russia has begun withdrawing troops from the city of Gori, a key flashpoint in the conflict south of the breakaway South Ossetian region, and was handing control to Georgian security forces.

 

However, it was reported Moscow's troops would remain nearby for several days to remove weaponry and help restore law and order in the city.

 

BP closed the 90,000 bbl/day oil pipeline between Baku and the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa on Tuesday and has no immediate plans to reopen it.

 

Meanwhile, repairs were reported to have started on a Turkish section of the key 1m bbl/day Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude pipeline, which had been damaged by an explosion and fire last week. It was unclear when the pipeline would reopen.

 

BP was still exporting crude from Baku via rail link to Batumi, Georgia, and a pipeline to Novorossiisk on Russia’s Black Sea coast, it said. The combined capacity is around 150,000 bbl/day.

 

 

Source: BP

By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214

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