TODAY.AZ / Business

Gas pipeline explodes in Turkey, not BTC

20 August 2006 [12:00] - TODAY.AZ
An explosion Saturday caused a huge fire on a natural gas pipeline in eastern Turkey, the Energy Minister Bulent Ismen said.

According to CNN, the explosion occurred in Turkey's eastern province of Agri, not at BTC, as it was reported earlier.

Earlier, a paramilitary police official in Agri and the private NTV television said that the fire was on the newly inaugurated pipeline carrying oil from the Caspian Sea.

The Anatolia news agency said the pipeline was carrying Iranian natural gas. Ismen said the fire was on a pipeline carrying gas within Turkey.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but Agri's governor, Halil Ibrahim Akpinar, told the Anatolia news agency that sabotage was suspected.

Autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels are active in the region and have attacked pipelines in the past.

The paramilitary official said the fire was visible from kilometers (miles) away.

Pipeline authorities closed down a nearby pumping station but it was too dangerous for them to reach a main valve, Ismen said.

Gas flow to the nearby province of Erzincan was cut, he said.

Turkey has been importing natural gas from Iran through the 2,577-kilometer (1,598-mile) pipeline since 2001. Turkish and Iranian officials reportedly are discussing expanding the pipeline for exports to Europe, CNN reports.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/29187.html

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