As if the oil and gas industry didn't already have enough problems on its hands, bombers struck a train in Georgia this week and reawakened memories of the conflict that occurred there just over a year ago.
"According to preliminary information, TNT was used in the explosion," said Georgian Railway spokeswoman Irma Stepnadze, who confirmed no one was injured in the blast, which damaged 100 m of track and overturned 16 tanker cars.
The explosion took place on the rail line between Senaki and Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, a major center of oil exports. Stepnadze said repair work was under way, but it was unclear when traffic on the line would resume.
The cause of the explosion was completely clear to officials in Georgia, now considered by the US and Europe as an important segment of a key oil and gas transport corridor from the Caspian to western markets.
No accident
The Oct. 21 blast appeared to be "an act of sabotage" and not an accident, according to Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for Georgia's interior ministry, whose words echoed those of other Georgia officials.
More worrying, the blast is the third in a series apparently targeting the railway network in the country's western region near the Russian-backed separatist Abkhazia province.
"The recent increase in the frequency of explosions on the Georgian railroads is sign of deteriorating security in Georgia," said analyst IHS Global Insight, which said the attacks are especially painful for Georgia since its rail network is essential for transporting oil.
"Georgia owes much of its foreign direct investments to the fact that it has become a vital oil and gas transport corridor," said IHS Global Insight, which added that attacks have also been staged against the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
Maximum damage
"It is clear from the repeated attacks to essential infrastructure that the instigators of these acts are interested in causing maximum economic damage to the country rather than human casualties," IHS Global Insight said.
According to the analyst, the Georgian government has yet to present evidence to support the allegation that the Abkhazians from the breakaway region in the northwestern part of the country, close to Senaki, are responsible for the attacks.
However, the analyst had no hesitation in saying that "to retain its important role as a transport hub Georgia needs to step up security measures on essential transport routes in order to guarantee the safe passage of vital oil and gas exports through its territory."
True enough, so far as it goes. But such a conclusion does not go far enough for it overlooks the fact that oil passing through Georgia comes from states to the East and is heading toward states to the West. In a word, more countries than Georgia have a stake in trans-Caucasian transport security.
It's everybody's problem.
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