Pipeliners

12 August, 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Fighting in Georgia will not stop oil flows through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, with a source at Turkey's pipeline outfit Botas adding that exports will resume via the trunkline once the pipeline is repaired. The pipeline carrying Azeri crude, which passes through Georgia, was hit by an explosion claimed by Kurdish separatist guerrillas on Turkish territory two days before conflict began over the South Ossetia region between Russia and Georgia. "We are not linking the fighting between Russia and Georgia with the oil pipeline at the moment. We are focused on repairing the pipeline," the source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. "Oil exports will begin when the pipeline is repaired, the fighting is not an obstacle for exports," he added. Yesterday another Botas source said repairs may not be finished for one to two weeks or longer. No oil is currently flowing through the pipeline. The $4 billion BTC pipeline can pump up to 1 million barrels per day, the equivalent of more than 1% of world supply, from fields in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. UK supermajor BP holds a 30.1% stake in BTC, while Azeri state oil company Socar holds 25%. Other shareholders include US supermajors Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norway's StatoilHydro , Italy's Eni and France's Total. Kurdish separatists claimed responsibility for the explosion and said they would carry out more attacks on economic targets inside Turkey.