KRG officials say Ceyhan pipeline resumes flows after being hit by terrorist attack

Istanbul — Crude exports from Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan have resumed, government officials from the Iraqi semiautonomous region told S&P Global Platts on Nov. 5, after an attack on a key pipeline had halted flows a week earlier.

"The pipeline is now functional and the oil is flowing like before," an official with the Kurdistan Regional Government said, asking not to be named.

Another official confirmed the reopening of the pipeline, which has a capacity of 600,000 b/d, but neither would provide any details on throughput levels or whether production facilities had been damaged by recent fighting between militia groups.

The KRG exports the vast majority of its approximately 450,000 b/d of crude production via its pipeline to Ceyhan. Iraq's federal government also ships about 100,000 b/d of crude from its Kirkuk fields to Ceyhan in the pipeline.

The KRG reported that "a terrorist attack" on the pipeline occurred Oct. 28, resulting in the suspension of shipments. It said it had launched an investigation to determine who was responsible for the strike.

Media reports said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militia group that has been designated a terrorist group by Turkey and the EU, was suspected.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization said Nov. 5 that production from the Kurdish region averaged 446,000 b/d in October, of which 416,000 b/d was exported, down 4.8% from 437,000 b/d in September.

Iraq's total crude production was 3.842 million b/d in October, the SOMO figures showed.