Iraqi oil exports are "unaffected" by a blast on a pipeline in the south of the country, said Kifah Numan, deputy director-general of the South Oil Co., which is responsible for oil production and exports in the area.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Numan said saboteurs attacked a pipeline south of Basra, causing a leak and fire. "There was an explosion, which caused a leak and a small fire, but the fire is out," he was quoted as saying Monday morning.
His comments came after Jabbar al-Leaby, president of South Oil, said the attack had reduced oil exports because the pipeline linked southern fields with terminals in the Persian Gulf.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said on Monday the attack has stopped oil exports. US Army spokesman Steve Wright told Reuters the pipeline was still on fire at the southern edge of the Faw Peninsula after the attack on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, world oil prices slipped on Monday but stayed close to 13-year peaks following the reports from Iraq. In recent weeks, traders feared an attack on oil facilities in the Middle East after a recent suicide bombing attack on Basra oil terminal and the shooting attack against foreign employees at a petrochemicals plant in the Saudi industrial city of Yanbu last Saturday. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
