Saakashvili Says Russia Hit Pipeline; BP Unaware

Saakashvili Says Russia Hit Pipeline; BP Unaware

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 12 Aug.'08

Speaking at a news conference for foreign journalists in Tbilisi onAugust 12, President Saakashvili said that the Russian air strikes hitthe BP-operated oil pipeline in Georgia.Earlier this morning the Georgian officials have claimed the Russianwarplanes dropped three bombs in the area through which the Baku-Supsapipeline runs. It was also reported that one bomb hit the pipelinewithout exploding.BP-Azerbaijan, however, said it was unaware of the attack.“All our facilities are intact and we have no such information," Reutersquoted a BP official as saying.---------------------------------------------------------------BP shuts two energy pipelines in Georgia12.08.2008LONDON (AFP) — British energy giant BP said Tuesday that it has closedtwo more oil and gas pipelines in Georgia because of the ongoingconflict with Russia."We have closed two other pipelines in Georgia -- Baku-Supsa and theSouth Caucasus pipeline, which is a gas pipeline," a BP spokesman told AFP.The key Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which BP also operates, wasshut last week after a blast occurred in a pump at a section in easternTurkey.Russia's armed forces on Tuesday denied deliberately targeting thestrategic BTC conduit running through Georgia after Tbilisi claimed ithad been attacked by the Russian air force."The oil pipeline was never a target that needed to be bombed," deputychief of general staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in a televised pressconference.He did not explicitly rule out the possibility that the pipeline mighthave been hit accidentally.BP was also looking into the claim. "We're not aware of any attack atall. We have no report at all of an attack," a spokeswoman told AFPearlier on Tuesday.Georgia's security council chairman said that Russian warplanes hadtargeted the BTC pipeline, which is used to transport oil from theCaspian Sea to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, but could not confirm anydamage."Russians bombed the BTC pipeline south of the city of Rustavi," saidAlexander Lomaia. "We don't know yet whether it was damaged. It's thesecond attempt to bomb this pipeline since August 10."BP operates the 1,774-kilometre (1,109-mile) BTC pipeline -- the world'ssecond largest -- that carries oil from Azerbaijan to Western marketsvia the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. It is capable oftransporting 1.2 million barrels of crude per day.