KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) - A major oil network connecting wells west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk with export pipelines and refineries was attacked with explosives in the fourth such attack, police and oil officials said.
The latest attack occurred at about 7:20 pm (1620 GMT) in the network connecting the Khubbaz oil wells with refineries in Baiji and Baghdad, further south, and the main export pipeline running to the northern Turkish terminal of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, said General Turhan Yusif, Kirkuk`s police chief.
"This is one of the most powerful and most serious attacks ever," said an official with the Northern Oil Company, who wished not to be identified.
"This will affect production and hurt exports and supplies to the local market."
Firefighters and engineers rushed to the scene of the attack which occurred close to the village of Sheikh Mizher al-Asi, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) west of Kirkuk, amid fears that the wells themselves may be also on fire from the impact of the attack.
Three similar bomb attacks earlier targeted secondary pipelines connecting to Baiji.
Although the bulk of Iraq`s oil is produced and exported from fields around the southern city of Basra, the attacks in the north could be a major setback for the country to increase production and exports and bring in much-needed hard currency to rebuild its war-ravaged economy.
Iraq is producing an average of about 2.8 million barrels per day of which 2.1 million bpd is from the south, said the country`s Oil Minister Thamer Ghadban on October 21.
Exports have averaged 1.8 million bpd in recent months, he said.
11/02/2004 - 18:29 GMT - AFP