Iraq's Oil Exports via Turkey Dwindle as Kirkuk Fields Stay Shut
- Missing equipment prevents oil flow at two fields in Kirkuk
- Crude flowing to Turkish port at a third of normal level
Vitol CEO Sees Oil Above $60 Without Kurdish Supply
Crude exports from northern Iraq fell again, and output remained curtailed in the nation’s disputed Kirkuk province. Oil Ministry engineers worked to replace computers and other critical equipment missing from fields in Kirkuk that government troops recaptured this week from Kurdish forces, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The Kirkuk area’s Bai Hassan and Avana oil fields were still shut, with exports stopped, the person said Thursday, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The two deposits had been pumping an estimated 275,000 barrels a day before the Iraqi offensive against the Kurds. Iraq won’t be able to restore Kirkuk’s oil output to last week’s levels before Sunday because of missing equipment at the fields, Reuters reported earlier Thursday, citing an unidentified oil ministry official.