Azerbaijan blames ‘mud volcano’ for Caspian Sea fire near natural gas field
- According to reports, the state oil and gas company SOCAR said the volcano emitted methane and other flammable gases, causing the fire on Sunday
- The US Geological Survey said mud volcanoes are ‘relatively obscure geologic features found on nearly every continent worldwide’
A large fire that broke out in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan, not far from a natural gas field, was caused by an eruption by a “mud volcano,” authorities said.
Azerbaijani media quoted the state oil and gas company SOCAR as saying the volcano emitted methane and other flammable gases, causing the fire on Sunday evening.
Videos of huge flames were published on social media, and some media reported on that basis that there could have been an explosion on an offshore platform.
But Azerbaijan's Ministry of Emergency Situations denied the platform caught fire and ruled out any man-made accident there.
According to the US Geological Survey, mud volcanoes are “relatively obscure geologic features found on nearly every continent worldwide, as well as in near-shore environments.”
“Mud volcanoes are found where subsurface layers of fluidised sediments, like silt and clay, have been pressurised by tectonic activity … this pressurised sediment is forced upwards, where it erupts on the Earth's surface to form conical mounds of mud.”
