Iraq pumps crude north to Turkey after 7-week halt
Source: Reuters
LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Iraq started pumping crude oil on Tuesday through its vital northern pipeline to Turkey after sabotage stopped shipments for nearly two months, shipping sources said.
Iraq had managed to pump 8.5 million barrels of crude from its giant Kirkuk oilfields to Turkey's Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean before sabotage halted flows on July 9.
"Pumping resumed at 0930 Turkish local time (0630 GMT)," a shipping source said on Tuesday.
An Iraqi oil official downplayed the resumption.
"This is a test, it happens from time to time and it is not for export purposes," he told Reuters.
Iraq had restarted Kirkuk exports in June after a nearly year-long halt due to sabotage, raising hopes of a major increase in export sales and revenue for the country.
Iraqi oil officials had aimed for steady Kirkuk crude exports of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) via term contracts from August.
But sabotage put paid to this target.
Iraq exported 181,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kirkuk from Ceyhan in July, compared with 100,000 bpd in June.
When the line is down, the country relies exclusively on exports of around 1.5 million bpd of Basra Light from its southern Gulf terminal. (Additional reporting by Ibon Villelabeitia in Baghdad)
