Iraq pipeline working again but refinery shuts down

KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Iraq's main oil pipeline to Turkey has restarted after recurring attacks but the country's largest oil refinery now remains offline for lack of electricity.

The Northern Oil Company of Iraq said oil has started flowing from Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, to the northern neighbor port after a break caused not only by attacks, but also storage issues in Turkey and aging pipelines, Gulf Daily News in Bahrain reports.

An executive at the company, who spoke anonymously because of security issues, said, "After several months of interruption, pumping resumed permanently following intermittent and irregular pumping over the past month."

The NOC says between 250,000 and 350,000 barrels per day are flowing through the pipeline. Iraqi oil production is at around 2 million barrels a day, below the 2.5 million barrel capacity, which is still below pre-war levels.

The majority of Iraq's oil is from fields in the south, although the country isn't completely explored. Regardless, a lack of national oil policy keeps exploration from happening, as does the ongoing and increasingly paralyzing violence in the country.

Reconstruction efforts have also been slow at best, with electricity in the country spotty and unreliable. Electricity supply issues have forced Iraq's largest oil refinery in Baiji, central Iraq, to go offline for the fourth day in a row.

When the facility is fully operational, Iraq can only produce less than half its oil product demand, causing shortages on gas and kerosene and long lines at gas stations.

Read the rest at UPI

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