Pipeline attacks in northern Iraq halt oil flow to Turkey

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Pipeline attacks in northern Iraq halt oil flow to Turkey

(Xinhua) 19:20, August 21, 2013

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KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen bombed a major oil pipeline in three areas in northern Iraq, halting the flow of crude oil from Kirkuk to the port of Ceyhan on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday.

The multiple attacks occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. Two of the bombings occurred near the villages of Hadhar and Albu- Jahash in the northern province of Nineveh, while the third blast hit another section of the pipeline near Fatha area in west Kirkuk, the official from state-run North Oil Company said.

The blasts halted the pumping of crude oil from the Iraqi town Baiji, some 200 km north of the capital Baghdad, northward to Ceyhan, the official said.

Repair teams have been sent to the scenes and are expected to fix one of the damage sites later Wednesday and the other two in a few days, the official added.

Last week, the same pipeline was hit by insurgents near the village of Albu-Jahash in the southern part of Nineveh province, according to the official.

Iraq's oil pipelines have been frequently attacked by insurgents since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The country's economy depends on oil revenues for nearly 95 percent of its budget.

In 2010, Iraq announced its proven oil reserves had increased to 143.1 billion barrels from the previous estimate of 115 billion barrels.

（Editor：DuMingming、Liang Jun）