Earthquakes Damage Energy Infrastructure in Turkey

The earthquakes that struck Turkey in early February jeopardized natural gas transport throughout the Caucasus region (Wikimedia Commons). 

The recent earthquakes that struck southern Turkey on February 6 damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted natural gas flow through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. 

Turkey is home to four of the eight pumping stations of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

The Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey is 96 miles from the epicenter of the February 6 earthquakes. The 7.7 magnitude initial shake and 7.6 magnitude aftershock damaged two sections of gas transmission lines in Hatay Province, which supply energy to over 1.6 million people. Following the quakes, state-owned petroleum pipeline company BOTAS ceased crude oil flow through the region. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Faith Donmez stated that the main transmission line in the Turkoglu district of Kahramanmaras suffered the most damage.  Authorities halted gas flows to the Gaziantep, Hatay, and Kahramanmaras provinces as a result of the damage. In addition to damaging the pipeline, the quakes disrupted the operation of 30 substations of the Turkey Electricity Transmission. 

The damage to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline impacted trade with other regions that run natural gas through the pipeline, including Kazakhstan and Kurdistan. According to Tengizchevroil General Director Kevin Lyon, the damage to the Ceyhan terminal delayed a planned shipment of Kazakh oil. Similarly, Kurdistan Foreign Media Relations Department head Lok Ghafouri reported that they suspended oil exports to Ceyhan. The earthquakes did not significantly impact other key energy infrastructure in Turkey, including the Akkuyu nuclear power plant that is currently under construction on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. 

As of February 11, the pipeline gradually started to resume gas pumping and loadings from Ceyhan. BP has repaired the Ceyhan terminal, which has the capacity to transfer 1.2 million barrels per day.