Blast rocks Caspian Sea area near Azerbaijani gas field yesterday

 

Blast rocks Caspian Sea area near Azerbaijani gas field

yesterday

This photo released by Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations on Monday July 5, 2021 shows an aerial view of the aftermath of a strong explosion in the Caspian Sea area, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Umid gas field, which is 75 kilometers (45 miles) off the coast of the capital, Baku. A strong explosion has shaken the Caspian Sea area where Azerbaijan has extensive offshore oil and gas fields and a column of fire rose late Sunday, but the state oil company says none of its platforms were damaged. The cause of the blast is not immediately determined, but state oil company SOCAR says preliminary information indicates it was a mud volcano. (Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — A strong explosion shook the Caspian Sea area where Azerbaijan has extensive offshore oil and gas fields. 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.

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.”