WikiLeaks: BP was "fortunate" to have evacuated workers from platform in Azerbaijan after gas leakDecember 16, 2010 - 19:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Leaked U.S. embassy cables have revealed that oil company BP PLC was "fortunate" to have evacuated workers from a platform in Azerbaijan after a gas leak similar to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The cables were released as BP shares took a hit in London after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was suing the oil company and several other firms involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The U.S. government accused the companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that blew out April 20, triggering a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig and sending millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf. In one of the U.S. embassy cables, BP Azerbaijan President Bill Schrader is reported as saying the "red button" was pressed after detection of a gas leak on the Central Azeri platform in September 2008. The subsequent evacuation of 211 workers was BP's largest emergency evacuation at the time. The cable, released by the WikiLeaks site, says that given the explosive potential the company was quite fortunate to have been able to evacuate everyone safely and prevent any gas ignition. Schrader notes that the incident had escaped media attention, but added it had the "full focus" of the government of Azerbaijan, which was losing $40-50 million a day because of the shutdown, Bloomberg reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |