BP:Force Majeure Declared On Baku-Supsa Pipe Liftings

LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) said Wednesday that force majeure has been declared on liftings from the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline following its shut-down Tuesday.
Τετ, 13 Αυγούστου 2008 - 22:51
LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) said Wednesday that force majeure has been declared on liftings from the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline following its shut-down Tuesday.

The U.K. oil company, which is the largest shareholder in Baku-Supsa, closed the 150,000 barrels a day route to Supsa on Georgia's Black Sea coast from Baku, Azerbaijan due to the conflict between Georgia and Russia.

It also shut Azerbaijani natural gas flows to the South Caucasus Pipeline it operates.

Another pipeline operated by BP in the former Soviet Republic, the larger Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, or BTC, pipeline, was already out of action after a fire last week.

The BTC pipeline has the capacity to supply 1 million barrels of Caspian crude to international markets.

The Georgian energy ministry said on its Web site that the Baku-Supsa route Tuesday "was repeatedly bombed by Russian military forces (near the capital Tblisi). This time rocket bombs have been used."

BP said it had knowledge of the incident and that the pipeline is not damaged.

Other shareholders in SCP and Baku Supsa include Russian non-state company Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS).

Other routes through Georgia, however, continue to operate. Azeri state oil company SOCAR said Wednesday in a statement that it has not suspended operation in its Kulevi oil terminal on the Georgian Black Sea. The company also said all Azerbaijani employees working there had been evacuated, as a precautionary measure last week.