A devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday shut down Turkey’s biggest oil export hub in Ceyhan and halted major crude oil flows from Iraq and Azerbaijan through the KRG pipeline, officials said, according to Reuters. .ro.

The Tribeca Shipping Agency said in a statement that the BTC terminal in Ceyhan, which exports Azerbaijani oil, will be closed until Wednesday pending an assessment of the damage.

Azerbaijan uses the Turkish port of Ceyhan as its main crude oil export hub, with a flow of around 650,000 barrels per day (bpd).

BP Azerbaijan said a “small” oil leak had been detected at Ceyhan, leading to the shutdown.

A source familiar with Azeri oil flows said there was sufficient storage capacity in Ceyhan and Azerbaijan, while a second source said flows could be reduced if necessary.

Three sources with direct knowledge added that the BTC pipeline was not damaged and that only Azerbaijan’s reserves at Sangachal, south of Baku, could allow current production levels to continue for four days.

Following Monday’s earthquake, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cut off flow through a pipeline it manages from the Kirkuk fields in northern Iraq to Ceyhan, the region’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said.

An oil industry source told Reuters the KRG pumped 400,000 barrels per day, while the Iraqi federal government pumped 75,000 barrels per day.

Oil exports will resume “after the completion of a thorough inspection of the pipelines,” the MPR said in a statement.

Most oil producers have several days of storage capacity, so KRG production should continue in the short term, the oil industry source added.

The eastern Mediterranean terminal of Ceyhan is about 155 km from the area where a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria early on Monday, killing more than 2,400 people when buildings collapsed.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit Turkey this century, followed by another strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake early in the afternoon.

Turkey’s state-owned pipeline operator BOTAS said natural gas supplies to Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces and other areas were suspended due to damage to the gas transmission line.

Residents of Iraq’s northern provinces said they felt a slight tremor after the earthquake.

• Watch LIVETEXT: Turkey and Syria hit by two devastating earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 degrees: thousands dead and injured / Romania among EU countries sends rescuers to Turkey