BTC pipeline bombed, reports say

TBILISI, Georgia, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Local television in the former Soviet republic of Georgia reported three explosions on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline as fighting subsided Tuesday.

Fighting broke out last week in the breakaway South Ossetia province, pitching Georgia against Russian troops. Local television reported Tuesday a series of explosions on the BTC oil pipeline section through Georgia, though several officials denied the reports, Trend Capital News said.

Russian air force Commander Anatoliy Nagovitsin told reporters, "No one struck the pipeline," while officials with BP, the majority shareholder in the BTC consortium, said, "We have not received such information" on the explosions.

The Georgian conflict threatens the only viable route for the transportation of oil to Western markets from the Caspian Sea. The 1,099-mile pipeline, with 155 miles through Georgia, was shut down Wednesday before the conflict because of a fire at a Turkish section of the pipeline.

The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for the Turkish fire, following claims by South Ossetian rebels they would bomb the pipeline should violence break out.

Europe and the United States value the BTC line as a means to ease dependence on Russian energy, while Moscow adamantly opposes its construction.