Tuesday November 24, 2009
Bomb attack halts Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD(Reuters)- A bomb attack in Salahuddin province damaged theIraq-Turkey oilpipeline more than four days ago and the damage willtake up to fourmore days to fix, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official saidon Tuesday.
Thebombing was the second in less than a month,signalling a possible risein attacks by insurgents or other groups onIraq's oil infrastructure asit signs its first multibillion-dollaroilfield deals with internationalfirms.
The Kirkuk pipelinecarries around a quarter of Iraq's oil exports to the Turkish port ofCeyhan, where it is pumped into tankers.
TheOil Ministryofficial, asking not to be identified, said a memo from theNorth OilCompany received by the ministry on Monday stated the attackhadoccurred between the village of Shirqat -- a former hotbed ofsupportfor al Qaeda -- and Baiji oil refinery. The memo was marked"secret andurgent".
"Four days ago a sabotage bomb attack caused damage to the strategic pipeline near Shirqat," Monday's memo read.
"Worksarecontinuing to repair the damage. It's hard to determine when theflowwill resume. It is expected the repair work will be finished inthree tofive days."
A shipping source in London said the flowof oilstopped on Saturday. The source said one vessel was waiting atCeyhan toload Kirkuk crude, but no loading was taking place. Storagetanks held1.9 million barrels of Iraqi crude, the source said.
Abomb attacknear Mosul in late October stopped Iraq from pumping crudeto Ceyhanuntil Nov. 2. The pipeline typically pumps 500,000 barrels ofoil perday.
SPOTLIGHT ON OIL
Iraq's oil industry,dilapidated afterdecades of war, sanctions and underinvestment,suffered frequentbombings and suicide attacks after the 2003 U.S.invasion triggeredsectarian warfare and a fierce insurgency. TheCeyhan pipeline wasmostly idle until 2007 because of insecurity.
Attacks on oil infrastructure have become less frequent in the last year as overall violence in the country declined.
Buttheindustry has been under a spotlight in the past few weeks after theoilministry signed the first major new oilfield agreements with globaloilmajors since the invasion.
The deals have been presented asamajor success by the Shi'ite Muslim-led government of PrimeMinisterNuri al-Maliki. Sunni Islamist groups like al Qaeda areexpected to tryto undermine Maliki's government ahead of an electionnext year.
Britain'sBP and China's CNPC have clinched a finalagreement to operate Iraq'sbiggest field, Rumaila, and groups led byItaly's Eni and U.S. majorExxon Mobil have secured initial deals overZubair and West Qurna PhaseOne.
Japan's Nippon Oil Corp and partners may ink an initial deal in the coming days for Nassiriya.
InDecemberIraq plans to hold a second round of oilfield tenders,offering up 10largely undeveloped fields to international oilcompanies.
Thedeals have the potential to help Iraq leapfrog tothird place in theleague of global oil producers, providing it withthe billions ofdollars it needs to rebuild.