Flows resume: an Iraqi official said two oil pipelines had restarted operation following a sabotage attack yesterday
Iraqi pipe flows ‘normal’ after attack
Iraq's southern oil pipeline system was flowing at near normal levels to its Basra export terminal after the two main pipelines were left undamaged during an attack yesterday, an Iraqi oil official said today.
"As of 10 pm (1900 GMT) last night, things are back to normal," the senior official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Saboteurs attacked the southern oil pipeline system yesterday, briefly suspending exports from the south of the country for the first time in years.
The resulting blaze prompted the Southern Oil Company to shut down the pipeline system, which pumps about 1.5 million barrels per day to the Basra terminal, as a precaution, he said.
After the fire was extinguished yesterday an investigation showed that a smaller, 28 inch pipeline, pumping about 100,000 barrels per day, was damaged.
The two main pipelines, which are located nearby and are more than 40 inches in diameter, were not affected by the attack.
"When the fire erupted, they didn't know which one was damaged and they had to shut all of them," the official said. "When they put the fire out, they discovered it was the smaller of the three."
Backup pipelines from southern oilfields have kept flow levels to the terminal near normal, he said.