- A strong explosion shook the Caspian Sea area where Azerbaijan has extensive offshore oil and gas fields.
- The incident in the Caspian Sea was a sign of a mud volcano.
- There were no accidents on offshore platforms and industrial facilities
A massive explosion caused by a mud volcano on Sunday shook the Caspian Sea where Azerbaijan operates offshore oil and gas fields, reports Offshore Energy.
Blaze from mud volcano
A column of fire rose from the area, but the state oil company said none of its platforms were damaged. The state oil company SOCAR said the blaze late Sunday may have come from a mud volcano.
The Caspian Sea has a high concentration of such volcanoes, which spew both mud and flammable gas.
SOCAR spokesman Ibrahim Ahmadov told the Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency on Monday that the company staff found a mud volcano ablaze on the uninhabited island of Dashly, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) off the coast of Azerbaijan between the towns of Alat and Neftchala.
No immediate threat
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations immediately launched an investigation.
The ministry said on Monday that, during the preliminary investigation, it was determined that no emergencies occurred at offshore oil and gas production, other industrial and transport infrastructure facilities.
According to the ministry, exploration flights in the Caspian Sea began this morning with the involvement of a helicopter of the Ministry’s Aviation Detachment.
Azerbaijan’s Emergency Ministry said that the volcano continued to burn on Monday morning, but the fire “doesn’t pose a threat either to the sea oil and gas infrastructure and other objects, or to people’s lives.”
The news about the explosion in the Caspian Sea comes only days after a gas leak from an underwater pipeline started a blaze on the ocean surface. The fire broke out early on Friday in the Gulf of Mexico near Pemex’ Ku Maloob Zaap oil development but was extinguished on the same day.
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Source: Offshore Energy
