Northern Iraqi Oil Exports Could Restart Wednesday After Pipeline Blast

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) - Iraqi`s vital oil pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan could restart pumping petrol, a week after a bomb blast shut down the crucial artery, a Northern Oil Co (NOC) official told AFP.

Repairs are being carried out to replace sections of the pipeline that were destroyed in the blaze, the official said on condition of anonymity. If the repairs go as planned, "The exports could start up Wednesday."

A double attack west of the oil centre of Kirkuk on the crucial pipeline to Ceyhan and one of its tributaries halted all northern exports on Tuesday.

The attack came after NOC resumed exports on September 8 to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan following a similar blast the previous week.

The latest spate of sabotage attacks comes after Iraq signed its first post-war term contract in late August for Kirkuk crude, to be used for auction in mass tenders from reserves at Ceyhan.