The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline came under rocket fire from Armenia on October 6, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) reported.
"The pipeline was not damaged, oil pumping continues as before," says SOCAR, which is the main exporter of BTC Mix, pumped through this route with a capacity of 60 million tons per year.
“The rocket fell ten meters from the oil pipeline in the Yevlakh region. More than 300 cluster bombs are scattered across the territory. The pipeline itself was not damaged, "said Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Department of International Relations of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev.
“Before the aggravation of the situation on the line of contact, Armenia openly threatened the critical energy infrastructure of Azerbaijan /Mingachevir reservoir with missile strikes. The recent missile strikes of Armenia have confirmed the aggressive nature of Armenia's military doctrine, ”Hajiyev said.
There is also a gas pipeline in the shelling zone, through which Azerbaijani gas is pumped in the direction of Turkey and Europe, SOCAR noted. This region, through which the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline with a capacity of 7.5 million tons per year also runs, and the railway connecting Azerbaijan and Georgia, is located about 45-50 km from the war zone in Karabakh.
Representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Defense denied information about the shelling of the BTC.
"Baku's statements about the shelling of the pipeline can be regarded as a call to Turkey to directly intervene in the Karabakh conflict," said orientalist Semyon Baghdasarov.
The pipeline is not damaged and operates normally, specialists of the National Agency for Mine Action of Azerbaijan (ANAMA) are working on site.
The BTC and Baku - Supsa pipelines provided up to 95% of all Azerbaijani oil exports this year. The total supply of raw materials to Ceyhan (Turkey) in the first half of the year, taking into account the 1.8 million tons of transit volumes from Russia and Turkmenistan, decreased to 14.8 million tons from 15.5 million tons a year earlier.
Azerbaijan and Armenia declared martial law on September 27 due to the resumption of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
