Two bomb attacks hit Iraq oil pipelines, exports unharmed

GlobalPost

Iraqi officials said two bombs went off today near oil pipelines at a major oilfield near the northern city of Kirkuk, reported Reuters

Oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters that officials are "assessing the damage" but exports were unharmed. 

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The pipeline in question moves oil from the Bai Hassan field in Kirkuk to the Ceyhan pipeline, which goes through Turkey to export some 500,000 crude per day, according to Agence-France Press

Local Dibis district mayor Abid Hassan told AFP that there is "no protection for this oil field from the oil and security ministries," saying it's left on "tribes who live nearby to protect them, but these tribes do not have arms."

The Bai Hassan oilfield lies in an area currently being claimed by both Baghdad and Kurdish regional authorities as part of their bid for greater autonomy. The conflict has not been resolved, said AFP

The pipeline targeted today accounts for a quarter of all Iraq's oil exports, according to Reuters

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