Explosion halts oil flow through BTC pipeline: agency

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

ANKARA (AFP) — Oil flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was cut Wednesday after an explosion sparked a fire in a section in eastern Turkey, local officials told Anatolia news agency.

The incident occurred around midnight in a pump at a section near the eastern town of Refahiye, in Erzincan province, the agency said.

Refahiye sub-governor Mehmet Makas ruled out the possibility of a sabotage, saying that a fault in the system had been detected before the blast.

He said authorities had taken measures to contain the fire which was still burning Wednesday morning.

Separatist Kurdish rebels, who are active in eastern and southeastern Turkey, have sabotaged gas and oil pipelines in the past as part of their 23-year armed campaign for self-rule in...