Baiji (Iraq), Aug 01: A gas pipeline supplying a key Baghdad power station was on fire today near the northern Iraqi refinery town of Baiji after an overnight explosion, a news agency correspondent on the scene reported. "It was a gas pipeline going from Kirkuk (in northern Iraq) to Tadji power station," an engineer in Baiji said on condition of anonymity.
US military helicopters were seen hovering over the fire four kilometres west of Baiji, site of strategic pipelines in Iraq's massive oil and gas sector. Witnesses said they heard an explosion yesterday night near Baiji, some 200 kilometres north of Baghdad.
It was not immediately known what caused the blast and the resultant fire, which this morning was still too hot to approach, the correspondent said. Sabotage and looting have plagued the oil and gas sectors, with pipelines suffering crippling damage, while just 150 of 700 oil wells are in working order, officials have said.
Iraq's oil reserves, the second largest in the world, are estimated at 112 billion barrels, while its gas reserves are the world's 10th largest, according to the US-led coalition occupying Iraq. Bureau Report