KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug 14 (AFP) - Iraq resumed Saturday pumping of oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan at levels not seen for the past year after exports from the northern fields were halted due to repeated sabotage, said an official with the state-owned Northern Oil Company.
"Pumping resumed this morning at 8:00 am (0400 GMT) from the oil fields in Kirkuk to Ceyhan at the rate of 600,000 to 800,000 barrels per day," the official who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.
He said the oil was being pumped both through the old pipeline that passes by the refineries in Beiji to the west and a new parallel pipeline that goes through the town of Al-Fatha, 120 kilometers (70 miles) west of Kirkuk.
The flow resumed as oil exports from the southern fields slowed to a trickle after production was halted amid threats to infrastructure from rebel Shiite militia.
Security was intense the length of the northern export artery Saturday as the authorities took no chances with any new disruption to the vital foreign-exchange earner.
Every kilometer (five-eighths of a mile) of the pipeline was guarded by five members of a special facilities force and regular patrols were being run on the road between Kirkuk and Beiji where most attacks have taken place.
Limited exports from the north had resumed in late June after 10 months but were halted twice after attacks in mid-July and early August.