THE Country of Turkey Thread (merged)

[Keith_McClary]

old news

needs to be unstuck

[DantesPeak]

BP to shut Baku-Ceyhan for 2-3 days end Sept-source
Tue Sep 9, 2008 4:41pm BST

BAKU, Sept 9 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will halt the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline for two to three days in late September for minor maintenance, a source at Azeri national oil company SOCAR said on Tuesday.

The work will include checks on valves like the one that caused a fire last month, halting the pipeline for 20 days, the source said. The pipeline's current capacity is 900,000-950,000 barrels per day, or about 1 percent of world supply.

The stoppage will not affect output from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oilfield, the main source of oil for the Baku-Ceyhan line, the source said.

Reuters

[DantesPeak]

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008, 7:46 A.M. ET Force Majeure On Some BTC Azeri Oil Exports - Co Source

LONDON (Dow Jones)--State Oil Company of Azerbaijan has declared force majeure on some shipments of Azeri crude from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline following partial shutdown of a large oil field in Azerbaijan, a source at the state oil company told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

"We declared force majeure to our clients, which may lead to certain delays in fulfilling the contracts," the source at SOCAR said, the declaration would legally protect the company from some of its contractual obligations to buyers. "This is not a global force majeure," the person added.

However, a spokesperson for SOCAR denied the move, and a BP PLC (BP) spokesman in Azerbaijan said the company wasn't aware of any declaration of force majeure on shipments.

Two platforms on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field were shutdown last week, cutting output from 850,000 barrels of oil a day to 350,000 barrels a day. All personnel were evacuated from the West Azeri platform last week when a gas leak was detected nearby. The Central Azeri platform was evacuated as a precaution.

BP is the ACG field operator with a 34.1% stake. Other shareholders include Chevron Corp. (CVX) with 10.2%, SOCAR with 10%, INPEX with 10%, StatoilHydro ASA (STO) with 8.6% and Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) with 8%.

Company Web site: http://www.bp.com

WSJ

[AirlinePilot]

By Mark Bentley and Ali Berat Meric
Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- An explosion late yesterday halted oil supplies through a pipeline connecting Turkey with oil fields in northern Iraq. The blast, which occurred around 10 p.m. near the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, resulted in a sudden loss of pressure on the pipeline, according to a spokesman for the state-run pipeline company Botas. He declined to say whether a bomb may have caused the blast.

Botas officials are at the scene of the explosion to inspect damage, the spokesman said. Oil has spilled over a wide area and entered waters below the nearby Ataturk dam, he added. The pipeline connects the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk with the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey.

Separatist militants in the mainly Kurdish region claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in August. "
Bloomberg pipeline explosion

[bratticus]

too bad http://www.iags.org/iraqpipelinewatch.htm is dormant (or dead)

[bratticus]

Meanwhile...

Shell Nigeria Suspends Export Obligations on Crude

By Alexander Kwiatkowski

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc suspended export obligations on shipments of its Nigerian crude in November and December as the West African country cuts production to comply with OPEC's curbs.

Shell declared force majeure on exports of Nigeria's Bonga, Forcados and Bonny Light crude effective Oct. 31, spokesman Rainer Winzenried said by telephone today. Force majeure is a legal clause that allows producers to miss contracted deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said its members will trim crude output by 1.5 million barrels a day from Nov. 1 to support falling oil prices. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said it will reduce crude volume in November and December shipments by 5 percent. The state oil company also canceled five cargoes this month and 7.6 shipments in December.

Shell's Winzenried said exports will be affected. He couldn't say by how much. Force majeure has been in place for Bonny Light since July after rebels sabotaged a pipeline.

Nigeria has already canceled at least two November shipments and seven December-loading cargoes, according to three traders of West African crude who declined to be identified because of company policy. One of the December shipments, a Bonga cargo, belongs to Shell, the traders said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in London at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

[seldom_seen]

It's a tough job these days, being an oil pipeline. You're spread out all over the map, you're really important, and bunches of people want to blow you up. I wouldn't take that job.

[dohboi]

"You're spread out all over the map, you're really important, and bunches of people want to blow you up."

Sounds like many of the ideas presented on this forum!

[Ferretlover]

The police used pepper gas to disperse the crowd, ANKA news agency reported. Tens of thousands of people attended the rally. Around 500 buses would bring workers to Ankara as some demonstrators have already started their protests in the Sihhiye Square of the capital.

The workers carry banners, saying "We would not pay the price of the crisis," while the unions officially named the rally as "Labor, Peace and Democracy." The unions protest the government for protecting the employers not workers with its financial support plan.

Leftist political parties as well as numerous NGOs extended their support to the demonstration and the unions.

Link