BP back pumping in region

ENERGY giant BP said yesterday that it had resumed pumping gas into the South Caucasus pipeline in Georgia and that the Baku-Supsa oil link remained shut.

“We are pumping gas again into the South Caucasus pipeline,” a company spokesman said.

On Tuesday, BP had stopped pumping into the South Caucasus pipeline, which snakes from Baku in Azerbaijan into Georgia and to the Turkish border, as a precautionary measure amid fighting between Russian and Georgian troops.

However, the high pressure inside the pipeline, meant gas supplies were still flowing.

There was very little disruption because gas remaining in the pipeline was still reaching Turkey, the BP spokesman said.

Analysts have played down the market impact of the two pipeline suspensions, arguing operations would likely resume quickly after Moscow’s order to halt its military offensive in Georgia.

Georgia is not an oil producer but its conflict with Russia has raised concerns because it is a key transit point for crude oil and gas exports from Azerbaijan to Western markets.