Baghdad, Oct 17: An explosion damaged part of the main pipeline running from Iraq's northern oil fields forcing a reduction in the amount of oil available for export.
In Irbil, 300 kilometres north of Baghdad, police shot and killed the driver of a car packed with 100 kilograms of explosives as he approached the police ministry office, the US military in Baghdad said yesterday.
The vehicle did not explode, US officials said. A car-bombing in Irbil last month killed three people and injured four American intelligence officers.
It was unclear whether the explosion along a section of pipeline near the city of Hadeetha, 200 kilometres northwest of Baghdad yesterday, was caused by saboteurs, a senior oil ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
He said the explosion ripped open part of the main pipeline linking the northern oil fields to the al-Doura oil refinery and the Mussayab Power Plant. The oil in the pipeline was earmarked for domestic use.



To maintain domestic supplies, the official said exports from the southern oil fields will be reduced by 80,000 barrels a day to make up for the shortage from the northern oil fields.


Bureau Report