Azerbaijan: Climate change strikes oil & gas industry - Tragedy in the Caspian Sea

Climate change is a reality, with extreme weather events striking more intensely and more often in the areas least expected, reports Hurriyet Daily. On Dec. 4, one of the strongest storms ever recorded struck the Caspian Sea near Azerbaijan. The storm caused one of the gas pipelines on an Azerbaijani offshore oil rig in the Guneshli oil field to explode. The escaping natural gas ignited from a spark and created a huge fire, which still continues to burn.

According to the article, the tragedy happened for two reasons. The first and most obvious reason was the lack of disaster preparedness by the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) for extreme weather events. The second reason for the tragedy is more structural. With climate change and the more frequent storms, both the infrastructure and safety procedures of SOCAR will need to adapt with the changing climate.