Turkey’s Botas douses fire at Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline after blast
Turkey’s state pipeline operator has put out a blaze following an explosion that cut oil flow at the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline near the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, it said.
Tuesday’s accident was the latest in a series of supply disruptions that have driven global crude prices to seven-year highs.
The fire that erupted after the explosion has been extinguished, while firefighters and emergency units engage in cooling efforts, said the operator, Botas.
“The oil pipeline will be operational as soon as possible after necessary precautions are taken,” it said in a statement, adding that the reason for the blast, close to the 511th kilometer of the pipeline, was unknown.
Brent crude futures rose $1.04, or 1.2%, to $88.55 a barrel by 03:51 GMT, adding to the previous session’s jump of 1.2%. The benchmark contract climbed to as much as $89.05, its highest since October 13, 2014.
The pipeline carries crude oil from Kurdistan for export from Turkey’s port of Ceyhan.
Kurdish crude exports averaged 10 million barrels per month between October and December, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed. So far, 5.2 million barrels have been loaded in January. The cargoes mainly head to refineries in Mediterranean countries such as Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain, data showed. [Reuters]
