BAGHDAD, Nov 1: Northern Iraq’s main oil export pipeline to Turkey may not resume operation in the coming week as planned, an Iraqi oil ministry source told Reuters on Saturday.

The pipeline is still under repair. There is still uncertainty. We don’t know if it will restart this week, the source said.

Oil officials had said the pipeline would resume operation in the first week of November, after being shut due to damage from sabotage. It had been due to restart in mid-October but that date was also missed due to sabotage.

The source also said a blast hit a pipeline carrying liquefied petroleum gas from Kirkuk to the south on Friday.

Lack of security is really impacting operations. For instance Turkish truck drivers are scared to drive to Iraq to pick up fuel oil. So those exports have decreased, said the source.

The situation is very fluid. We hope to reopen the pipeline in early November as planned but we are not sure that will happen.

The oil ministry source also said exports from southern Iraq averaged 1.15 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of October.

NICOSIA: Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) exported an average 1.148 millon barrels per day (bpd) of crude last month, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reports in its Monday edition.

The nominations programme for November is set for the export of 1.35 million bpd in November, the industry specialist says.

SOMO has signed contracts of over one millon bpd with international oil companies and traders, MEES says.

“All the export volume is Basrah Light crude since Kirkuk deliveries have not resumed because of security reasons,” the Cyprus-based weekly says.

“SOMO is not talking to us about Kirkuk exports in November,” MEES quotes a major oil company trader as saying.

Negotiations are underway to renew the contracts for the first half of 2004, MEES adds.

Iraq’s oil network has been repeatedly targeted by saboteurs in an apparent bid to deprive the US-led coalition ruling Iraq of a major source of income.—Reuters/AFP