Iraq's pipeline damage could hinder its oil exports

 Oil and Gas Journal
Eric Watkins 
Middle East Correspondent 
NICOSIA, June 18 -- Iraq's ability to increase crude oil exports could be 
hindered by damage to the country's main pipelines, which resulted from US 
bombing raids and from sabotage by guerilla forces loyal to former President 
Saddam Hussein.

"If the Iraqis loyal to Saddam's regime manage to derail the Americans' efforts 
to restart the oil industry, it will have an impact on the flow of oil exports," Fahel 
Gheit, an analyst with Fahnestock and Co. in New York, told Agence France 
Presse (AFP) following reports last week of attacks on the key Iraq-Turkey 
pipeline.

"We haven't seen oil exports yet, and if there is some potential for sabotage, it 
is going to make the situation very difficult," he said, adding the biggest risk is 
attacks on pipelines rather than oil fields.
The key Iraq-Turkey pipeline was attributed to sabotage. OGJ has learned that 
bombing raids during the US-led war also severely damaged the country's 
pipeline system.

Pipeline damage examples 
In one instance, a key pipeline connecting the Kirkuk oil fields with Iraq's 
national pipeline grid was damaged when a US bomb destroyed part of the Al 
Fathah bridge which spans the Tigris River, 15 km northeast of the refining 
town of Bayji.

In a chamber beneath its surface, the Al Fatah bridge carried 16 pipelines. All 
these lines are reportedly out of commission.
As a temporary measure, US officials installed a 40-in. crude pipeline from the 
bridge to a 40-in. line downstream. But, there was no outlet for natural gas. 
Refined products and residuals formerly transported by pipeline to Kirkuk must 
now be carried by truck.

US officials considered laying pipe across the bottom of the Tigris as a long-
term replacement option, but they found the river current too swift. Lacking any 
capability for horizontal directional drilling in the country, officials concluded the 
bridge must be rebuilt. Reports say that will take at least 104 days, after notice 
to proceed.

The US also faces problems in Haditha, 150 km southwest of Al Fatah, where 
the key K-3 pumping station on the north-south Strategic Pipeline requires 
repairs from bomb damage.

Adil al Qazzaz, the head of Iraq's North Oil Co., did not specify the nature of the 
damage but said repairs will not be finished this year. Meanwhile, he said, "the 
pipeline's not working, which means we don't have the export flexibility, and that 
will have an impact."

He insisted that damage sustained last week by the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, 
called an accident by US authorities, was caused by a deliberate attack. "It's 
definitely sabotage," he said, adding that the attacker "chose the perfect spot."
Iraq had hoped to produce 1.5 million b/d by the end of June, but that target 
now looks unlikely. A senior Iraqi official said lawlessness and technical 
problems means Iraq might only reach production of 1-1.2 million b/d by July 
15.


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