Exports interrupted as Iraqi pipeline is attacked

According to media reports, an explosion has blown a hole in a vital Iraqi pipeline that runs from Iraq’s Kirkuk oil fields to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

Iraq pumps one-fourth of its crude shipments to Turkey through this pipeline. Kirkuk oil production currently stands at 700 000 bpd and is expected to rise to 1 million bpd by 2012.

It is thought that unknown vandals detonated the bomb on the pipeline in the desert region of Al-Hadhar, 120 km south of the city of Mosul. The explosion reportedly emitted fireballs and huge clouds of smoke, while large quantities of crude oil were gushed from the pipeline. Al-Hadhar is in Nineveh province, where government authorities say insurgents, including extremists from al-Qaeda, frequently carry out attacks.

The last time an explosion struck the pipeline in the north was two months ago, when it took four days to repair and resume pumping. Following this attack, it is estimated that oil exports should resume within a week, once repairs are completed on the pipeline.

The North Oil Co. currently exports some 450 000 - 650 000 bpd of crude oil and the pipeline’s total capacity is 1.6 million bpd. The incident coincides with the Iraqi Oil Ministry's announcement that the country's revenue from oil exports topped an estimated US$ 4.35 billion last month.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/26042010/exports_interrupted_as_iraqi_pipeline_is_attacked/