Less than a week ago gas began to flow again through a Turkish pipeline carrying Iranian natural gas following an attack that had disrupted supplies. Now Turkish officials are once again reporting that saboteurs have bombed the pipe, halting the flow of natural gas and injuring 28 soldiers.
The Turkish pipeline operator Botas has already asked to Gazprom to send more gas to cover for the loss of gas coming from Iran. Gazprom will increase its supply through the Blue Stream underwater pipeline from 32 million cubic metres a day to 48 million.
Taner Yildiz, the Turkish Energy Minister, has assured Reuters that "despite the cut in the gas flow, there is no problem in meeting natural gas demand."
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The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for countless attacks against Turkish pipelines during its 28 year campaign to achieve self-governance for the Kurdish region of Turkey. In recent months the attacks have increased, and oil flow has been disrupted several times though the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.
The soldiers were injured when the military vehicle they were in passed by the site at the same time as the explosion occurred.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More