Middle East News
Northern Iraqi oil pipeline bombed (Roundup)
Apr 22, 2010, 11:18 GMT
Mosul, Iraq - A bomb destroyed a section of the oil pipeline linking northern Iraqi oil fields with the Turkish port of Ceyhan, police said Thursday.
A tower of flame, 'huge clouds of smoke' and 'large quantities of crude oil' were pouring from the pipeline near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police told the German Press Agency dpa.
Emergency response teams had rushed to the scene in an effort to extinguish the flames and repair the pipeline, police said.
'The fire is currently being extinguished. Crews will then work to rehabilitate and repair part of the pipeline, which may take a week,' Iraqi oil company official Imad al-Baqir told dpa.
The pipeline, which links oil fields near the disputed northern city of Kirkuk with international markets via Turkey, has frequently come under attack in the past.
The incident came as Iraq's Oil Ministry announced that the country's revenue from oil exports topped an estimated 4.35 billion dollars in March.
Iraq relies on its current 2.5 million barrels per day production for more than 90 per cent of its government revenue and about 60 per cent of its gross national product.
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