Oil pumping resumes through Iraqi-Turkish pipeline

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The pumping of Iraqi oil through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline has resumed on Sunday night after 3 days of stoppage, caused by a fire that broke out in one of the 2 main pipeline carrying Iraqi crude through Turkey, the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s Official Spokesman announced on Monday. “The Iraqi Oil Ministry has resumed oil pumping through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline, carrying Iraqi crude oil from north Iraq’s Kirkuk Oil Fields, towards the Turkey Ceyhan Port on the Mediterranean in the 2nd pipeline,” Assem Jihad told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Pumping was halted through the first line following a fire following demands by the Turkish side,”he noted. “The Turkish side had demanded at 9 AM local time last Wednesday to stop Iraqi oil pumping through the main Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline carrying Iraqi crude, due to the outbreak of a fire in one of the 2 pipelines, carrying crude through the Turkish territories for the Turkish Ceyhan Port,” Jihad said . “The Ministry had stopped oil pumping till the Turkish side had managed to put the fire off, few hours after its outbreak, caused for what looked like a corrupt act,” he added Commenting on the losses caused for the oil pipeline on the Kilo-170 inside the Turkish territories, “work is continuing to repair them,” Jihad said. In conclusion, Jihad said that “the size of Iraqi oil exports was not affected and the oil pumped through the said pipeline goes for exports and the rest to cover local oil refineries. SKH (TI)/SR 663