Azerbaijan and Armenia introduce martial law

Military clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia are happening close to key oil and gas export infrastructure.

The 1.2mn b/d Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude pipeline and South Caucasus gas pipeline (SCP) both pass within 30-40km of the conflict zone. But for now it is "business as usual", according to pipeline operator BP. The 150,000 b/d Baku-Supsa oil pipeline to the Georgian Black Sea coast and rail transport are also operating normally.

Fighting started on 27 September on the "line of contact" between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh — an Armenian-controlled territory inside Azerbaijan. Both countries have declared martial law and major cities in Azerbaijan are under curfew.

The BTC and Baku-Supsa lines account for 95pc of all Azerbaijani crude exports. During the last outbreak of hostilities in the region in July, management at Azerbaijan's state-owned Socar warned of potential risks to oil transportation.

By Evgeny Krishtalev