Analyst Looks at Oil, Gas Damage of Recent Earthquakes

In a statement sent to Rigzone, Alex Kavouris, a lead oil analyst at FGE, has outlined damage caused to oil and gas facilities as a result of the recent earthquakes affecting Turkey and Syria.

“Crude loadings at the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and BOTAS terminal in Ceyhan, Turkey, were suspended on February 6 following two huge earthquakes that rocked southern Turkey the morning of February 6,” Kavouris told Rigzone.

“Operations at the BTC terminal at Ceyhan in the Mediterranean, where Azeri Light crude loads – recent volumes some 650,000 barrels per day – were suspended on the day of the earthquake as damages to the terminal were being assessed,” he added.

“Initial reports said the terminal’s control room had suffered some damage, but details were not provided. Despite this damage, BTC Blend loadings from Ceyhan reportedly resumed on February 12,” Kavouris continued.

The FGE analyst noted that BTC – which he highlighted carries crude from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and until recently some Russian volumes – “suffered no damage with flows continuing uninterrupted”.

Kavouris said loadings at the BOTAS terminal were suspended after a leakage was detected. The analyst, who outlined that this is where KRG crude from Northern Iraq loads from, stated that the leakage was quickly stopped and that loadings resumed the next day on February 7.

“The crude loaded came out of storage facilities at the BOTAS terminal as the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline that carries KRG crude to Ceyhan suffered some damage from the earthquakes, contrary to initial reports,” Kavouris said.

“However, damage to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline was quickly repaired and crude flows through the pipeline restarted on February 8. We are not aware of any other damage to oil facilities in the region due to the devastating earthquakes,” he added.

“As far as natural gas pipelines are concerned BOTAS, the Turkish pipeline operator, said on February 6 that there was damage to the Kahramanmaras – Gaziantep natural gas pipeline and as a result natural gas cannot be supplied to Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay provinces and to Pazarcık, Narlı, Besni, Gölbaşı, Nurdağı and Kırıkhan counties in Turkey,” Kavouris continued.

Series of Large Quakes

On February 6, a series of large earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website notes, adding that thousands of lives were lost in the initial earthquakes and that thousands more are at risk.

“Efforts in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes and the following days are focused on search and rescue, finding survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings,” WHO states on its site.

“Other urgent needs are providing medical care for people with physical injuries and ensuring food, drinking water and shelter for all those who have lost their homes. Ensuring continuous access to basic health services is also critical,” WHO adds.

On its site, WHO noted that it is supporting the response in both Turkey and Syria in a number of ways. On February 10, the organization stated that, in response to the “devastating earthquakes”, it delivered 72 metric tons of trauma and emergency surgery supplies, including treatments, to both countries to support ongoing response efforts.

The United Nations’ (UN) website notes that the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria caused one of the biggest disasters to impact the region in recent times. The UN site also states that the organization and its agencies are deploying disaster assessment experts, coordinating search and rescue teams, providing emergency relief, food, medical supplies, thermal blankets and other life-saving items.

The UN reveals on its site that it has released $50 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to jumpstart the earthquake response. On February 14 the UN issued a flash appeal for $397 million for the people of Syria to cover a period of three months, the UN site highlights, adding that a similar appeal for Turkey is in the works.

RIGZONE