PKK CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR BTC BLAST
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.08.2008 14:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility
for the blast at Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, according to Cihan
Turkish news agency.
The explosion occurred on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline
in eastern Turkey late Aug. 5. Turkish energy officials say it
will take at least 24 hours for the fire engulfing the pipeline to
extinguish. Until then, it remains unclear what the extent of the
damage is and how long it would take to bring the pipeline back online.
A spokeswoman for British Petroleumsaid oil flows have been halted
after a fire damaged a valve of the 1767-km pipeline on a section in
eastern Turkey, but exports from the Ceyhan port terminal continued
from storage.
She also said BP and its partners continued to produce crude from
their Azeri fields for stockpiling until flows can resume.
"The incident didn’t stop oil production on the Caspian and exports
from Ceyhan are going in line with the schedule. (Turkish state firm)
Botas is taking all necessary measures to put the fire out," she added,
Reuters reports.