Iraqi forces drive past an oil production plant after they seized an oil field in Kirkuk province during an operation against Kurdish fighters as they head towards the city of Kirkuk on October 16. Oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan were still flowing at sharply reduced rates on Saturday and
yesterday, two shipping sources told Reuters. Flows were fluctuating at between 200,000 bpd and 250,000 bpd versus normal flows of around 600,000 bpd. Exports have dropped since Wednesday last week when Iraqi military forces took over the Kirkuk area from the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, resulting in a sharp drop in output from nearby fields. Iraqi oil ministry officials have said they were hoping to bring output back to normal by Sunday but it has not happened yet, one of the sources said.
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