In a statement sent to Rigzone, Alex Kavouris, Principal Petroleum Analyst at FGE, described the damage caused to oil and gas facilities as a result of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
“Crude loadings at the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) terminal and BOTAS in Ceyhan, Turkey, were suspended on February 6 after two large earthquakes shook southern Turkey on the morning of February 6” , Kavouris told Rigzone.
“Operations at the Ceyhan BTC terminal in the Mediterranean, where cargoes of Azeri light crude (recent volumes of about 650,000 barrels per day) were suspended on the day of the earthquake while damage to the terminal was being assessed,” added.
“Initial reports said that the terminal’s control room had suffered some damage, but no details were provided. Despite this damage, BTC Blend uploads from Ceyhan resumed on February 12,” Kavouris continued.
The FGE analyst noted that BTC, which highlighted the transport of crude from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and until recently some Russian volumes, “did not suffer any damage and flows continued without interruption.”
Kavouris said cargoes at the BOTAS terminal were suspended after a leak was detected. The analyst, who noted that this is where the KRG crude comes from in northern Iraq, stated that the leak was quickly stopped and loadings resumed the next day, on February 7.
“The loaded crude oil left the BOTAS terminal storage facilities when the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline carrying KRG crude to Ceyhan suffered some damage from the earthquakes, contrary to initial reports,” Kavouris said.
“However, the damage to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was quickly repaired and crude oil flows through the pipeline resumed on February 8. We are not aware of any other damage to oil facilities in the region in because of the devastating earthquakes,” he added.
“Regarding natural gas pipelines, BOTAS, the Turkish gas 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 the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay and Pazarcık, Narlı, Besni, Gölbaşı, Nurdağı and Kırıkhan Counties in Turkey,” Kavouris continued.
Series of great earthquakes
On February 6, a series of large earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, the World Health Organization (WHO) website said, adding that they were missed thousands of lives in the initial earthquakes and that thousands more are at risk. .
“Efforts immediately after the earthquakes and in the following days are focused on search and rescue, searching for survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings,” the WHO states on its site.
“Other urgent needs are to provide medical care to people with physical injuries and to guarantee food, drinking water and housing for all those who have lost their homes. It is also essential to ensure continued access to basic health services,” adds the WHO.
On its site, the WHO noted that it is supporting the response in both Turkey and Syria in a number of ways. On February 10, the organization said that in response to the “devastating earthquakes,” it delivered 72 metric tons of emergency trauma and surgery supplies, including treatments, to the two countries to support response efforts in course
The United Nations (UN) website notes that the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria caused one of the biggest disasters to hit 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 aid, 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 boost the earthquake response. On February 14, the UN issued an urgent appeal for $397 million for the people of Syria to cover a three-month period, the UN site notes, adding that there is a similar appeal for Turkey .
To contact the author, please send an email andreas.exarcheas@rigzone.com
