Report: Iraq's north exports restarted

KIRKUK, Iraq, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Iraq's exports of oil to Turkey have resumed despite concerns the country's limited success in the northern pipeline isn't sustainable.

Alsumaria TV quotes a "navy source" that taps from the Kirkuk fields in northern Iraq have resumed production and oil is making its way in the pipelines to Ceyhan, Turkey.

The pipelines had been shut because of unknown damage, Neftegaz news reported Thursday.

The Oil Ministry had blamed the Electricity Ministry for cutting power, thus stalling oil output. The Electricity Ministry blamed a lack of fuel for the power plants.

The pipeline and other oil infrastructure has been a frequent target of insurgents since 2003, shutting in oil exports from the north and limiting production.

Iraq averaged 2.3 million barrels per day in December, an increase from the 2 million bpd post-invasion average, which is attributed to a late-summer increase in repairs and security of the northern oil sector.

Earlier this month the pipelines stopped flowing because the storage tanks in Ceyhan were full. This trend of constant flow in the pipeline prompted Iraq to start setting contract terms.

But Iraq oil production dropped to 2.10 million bpd last week, according to the State Department's Iraq Weekly Status Report. Most of that oil is in the south, and is exported from the south.

And with the latest stoppage of the pipelines, regardless of cause, it's sending worries in the industry that Iraq crude contracts from Ceyhan won't be fulfilled.

Iraq's refineries have also suffered from the power outage though, and if the pipelines are open and production continues, oil could be diverted to exports.