Turbine Failure Cuts Southern Iraq Oil Exports by Nearly a Third

A mechanical failure at a pumping station in southern Iraq has reduced crude oil exports from the region to roughly 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), down from a typical level of about 1.8 million bpd, according to an industry source speaking on 15 December 2004.

An unnamed official at a southern Iraqi terminal attributed the shortfall to a turbine breakdown at one of the pumping facilities.

A separate official with the North Oil Company indicated that output from the northern fields had not been disrupted by insurgent sabotage, though pumping was being halted several times weekly due to capacity constraints at the Ceyhan terminal in Türkiye.

Shipments through Ceyhan, averaging around 500,000 bpd, had restarted the previous week, according to an oil ministry official in Baghdad.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in December 2004, in its own words.