(Changes sourcing, adds detail)
BAKU, Oct 7 (Reuters) - British oil major BP is
looking to beef up security at its facilities in Azerbaijan
after reports of alleged attacks on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) pipeline, the main route for Azeri oil exports, it said on
Wednesday.
Fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region erupted on Sept. 27 and has since
escalated to its deadliest level since the 1990s.
The clashes have not affected energy supplies from the
region but have put energy markets on edge.
Azerbaijan said late on Tuesday that it thwarted missile
attacks in the vicinity of the oil pipelines including the BTC,
which accounts for about 80% of Azeri oil pipeline exports,
carrying more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day.
Armenia has denied it targeted the energy infrastructure.
"We are especially worried about yesterday's reports of a
missile attack, which was intercepted and destroyed by
Azerbaijan's air defence systems in the vicinity of BTC and SCP
(South Caucasus Pipeline) export pipelines," BP said in a
statement.
"While the security of all assets which BP operates on
behalf of the Azerbaijan government and our partners is provided
by the Azerbaijani government, we continue to work closely with
the relevant authorities in an effort to take necessary measures
to provide the protection of our personnel, operations and
assets."
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Moscow, Nailia
Bagirova in Baku and Nvard Hovhannisyan in Yerevan
Writing by Alexander Marrow and Vladimir Soldatkin
Editing by David Goodman
)
BP (BP.)
