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MOSCOW: Georgian Bridge Blast Hits Oil Transit

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  • MOSCOW: Georgian Bridge Blast Hits Oil Transit

    The Moscow Times, Russia
    Aug 18 2008



    Georgian Bridge Blast Hits Oil Transit

    18 August 2008

    TBILISI, Georgia -- Azerbaijan suspended oil exports through ports in
    western Georgia on Sunday after an explosion damaged a key rail bridge
    there.

    Georgia accused Russian troops of blowing up a railway bridge west of
    the capital Tbilisi on Saturday, saying its main east-west train link
    had been severed. Russia denied any involvement.

    Georgian Railways said Sunday that the railway would reopen within 10
    days.

    "The construction or repair works are expected to be completed within
    10 days maximum," said Irma Stepnadze, a spokeswoman for Georgian
    Railways.

    She said engineers and workers from Armenia and Azerbaijan were
    expected to arrive in Georgia on Sunday to help with
    reconstruction. They were also bringing specialist equipment.

    In a statement earlier Sunday, Azerbaijan's state railway company
    cited the bridge explosion as the reason for the suspension.

    A shipment of 72 oil tanks had been due to be sent to Armenia before
    the link was cut off, the Azeri company said.

    The railway line runs from Tbilisi, through the Russian-occupied town
    of Gori, before splitting in three and running to the Black Sea ports
    of Poti and Batumi and southwest to just short of the Turkish border.

    Earlier this month Azerbaijan suspended crude shipments via the
    BP-operated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries 1 million
    barrels per day, to Turkey after a fire damaged it.

    BP last week closed the pipeline taking crude from Azerbaijan's
    Caspian port of Baku to the Georgian port of Supsa on the Black Sea,
    citing fighting between Georgian and Russian troops.

    A pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to Russia's Black Sea port of
    Novorossiisk is currently Azerbaijan's only oil export outlet.
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