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British oil company BP PLC said yesterday it has stopped using a railway line that exports Azeri oil through Georgia, following reports of damage to the line.
The closure of the railway line that runs from the capital of Tbilisi through the city of Gori before splitting in three to head to the ports of Batumi and Poti on the Black Sea and a location just shy of the Turkish border, further limits BP's options to export Caspian oil through the troubled region.
BP spokesperson Toby Odone confirmed that exports had stopped on the line, which can carry between 50,000 and 70,000 barrels of Azeri oil to Batumi.
Georgian officials accused Russia of blowing up a key railway bridge on the line on Saturday. Officials later vowed to restore the link within a week. The problems on the railway line compound BP's decision last week to shut down its Baku-Supsa oil pipeline.
