- Title: IRAQ: SABOTEURS ATTACK STRATEGIC OIL PIPELINE LINKING NORTH TO SOUTH.
- Date: 5th July 2004
- Summary: (U6) HAWIJAT AL-FALLUJAH, IRAQ (JULY 4, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV/LV: SMOKE RISING FROM PIPELINE, FIRE (3 SHOTS) 0.39 2. GV/PAN: FIRE ENGINE ARRIVING AT SCENE 0.53 3. MV: POLICEMAN SPEAKING ON RADIO 1.05 4. GV: WORKERS STANDING TILT UP TO PIPELINE BURNING (2 SHOTS) 1.22 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th July 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HAWIJAT AL-FALLUJAH
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVAABH2S5MBZYCP8Q0G7B3W3VXJN
- Story Text: Saboteurs attack Iraq strategic oil pipeline.
Saboteurs attacked the oil pipeline linking Iraq's
northern and southern oil fields on Sunday (July 4).
Columns of smoke were seen rising hundreds of metres
from a section of the strategic pipeline near the Hawijat
al-Fallujah area, around 80 km southwest of Baghdad.
Industry insiders say northern crude was being secretly
pumped through the pipeline for export through two offshore
southern terminals.
Northern crude is usually pumped through a pipeline to
Turkey, but sabotage has forced Iraq to divert flows south.
Exports from the southern terminals, which account for
all of Iraq's oil exports, fell to 960,000 barrels per day
on Saturday after saboteurs blew a hole in one of two
pipelines feeding them.
Iraq used to export around 2 million bpd before the
attack on the southern pipeline on Saturday.
The attack on the smaller of two pipelines feeding two
offshore terminals stopped operations at the Khor al-Amya
terminal and restricted flows to the bigger Basra terminal,
from where most Iraqi oil is exported.
Flows to tankers at the Basra terminal, formerly known
as Mina al-Bakr, were running at 41,000 barrels per hour.
The tanker Stena Congress was loading at 31,000 barrels
per hour and the Astro Cassiopeia at 11,000 barrels per
hour.
Flows to Basra platforms were running at 70,000 barrels
per hour before the attack, which blew a hole in the
42-inch pipeline running through the Faw Peninsula, despite
security that was stepped up following similar attacks last
month.
Iraqi exports are dependent on the Gulf route. Attacks
on the two southern pipelines and other oil installations
have stopped exports several times this year.
Senior Iraqi security official Ahmad al-Khafaji told
Reuters last week that sabotage against oil installations
would continue unless neighbouring countries helped stop
the infiltration of the foreign militants alleged to be
behind the attacks.
Progress in stopping sabotage on a network of domestic
and export pipelines stretching for thousands of kilometres
(miles) will be slow otherwise, Khafaji said
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
