Azerbaijan, Baku, 13 August / Trend / BP Azerbaijan Company estimates the complicated situation in Georgia after which will make a decision on possibility to re-establish operations via South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and Baku-Supsa pipeline, a source said at the Company.
The Company stated that this was done for purposes of precaution. Despite this, the production on the gas-condensate field of Shah Deniz continues and the gas, produced from the field, is injected into the gas pipeline, but only on the territory of Azerbaijan (up to the border with Georgia). The export of gas will be re-established only after company will be completely sure of safety of pipelines. However, Turkey and Georgia receives gas from the volumes left in the pipeline (by cessation of operations).
The Company said that for the same reasons, the filling of the Baku-Supsa pipeline was ceased. The first oil consignment from this Georgian Black Sea port had to be dispatched by the end of this week. It had been under repair since October 2006.
The operator of the Baku-Supsa pipeline is the BP-operated Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC). Before termination, the Baku-Supsa exported light oil, produced by AIOC on the block of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields.
The Company envisaged to use this route (together with Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline and transportation via railway) to transport its oil which was exported via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that was stopped due to fire on Turkey's territory. The fire broke down before beginning of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.
BP said that export of the oil, produced on Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields, is currently realized through railway to the Georgian Port of Batumi and through Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline.
The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]