Iraqi oil pumping to Turkey stopped

The pumping of Iraqi oil to Turkey continued to be halted on Monday due to the damage Iraq said was inflicted on the oil pipelines as a result of the US air strikes on Sunday.

The official in charge of planning at the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Faleh Hassan al-Khayat, said that it is still too early to resume exports despite the fact the pipeline transports half of the Iraqi oil exports. He indicated that the Iraqi authorities are currently evaluating the damage resulting from the raid launched by US planes on Sunday on the station for monitoring the operation of the Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline in northern Iraq, noting that the raid resulted in killing or wounding several Iraqis.

Iraqi - Turkish oil pipelines link Karkouk oil fields, 255 km north of Baghdad, with the Turkish port of Jeihan on the Mediterranean Sea.