Further setback for Iraqi oil exports

Fires and looting have hampered oil production

Iraq is still struggling to restore exports from its giant northern Kirkuk oilfield as it awaits vital repairs to its crude pipeline to Turkey, says a report.

The Iraq-Turkey pipeline is essential to transmit output from the oilfield to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, and raise funds for the reconstruction of Iraq.

But the pipeline was badly damaged by fire and explosions last month.

"We are still repairing and preparing it," Adil Qazzaz, director-general of Iraq's North Oil Company (NOC) told the Reuters news agency.

Kirkuk's crude oil is a vital component of Baghdad's plans to resume exports as quickly as possible.

Before the recent war in Iraq, the pipeline carried 700,000 barrels of oil per day to Ceyhan.

Guarding production

Baghdad had planned to resume oil exports of about one million barrels per day (bpd) by mid-July, with Kirkuk contributing about 400,000 bpd.

But Mr Qazzaz told Reuters it was "too early to tell" when the pipeline would be able to handle exports.

He added that during the restoration it would be closely guarded against any further attacks.

Iraqi officials say they now want telecommunications along the 965km (600mile) pipeline to be restored before oil can flow from the field to the terminal, according to Reuters.

Last month, Iraq's acting oil minister Thamer al-Ghadhban admitted the growing number of sabotage attacks on oilfields was making it difficult to restore oil output as quickly as hoped.

He said he hoped most capacity would be restored by the end of 2003.