Production from the Rumaila oilfield in Iraq has dropped to 530,00 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.24 million bpd after two bomb blasts struck pipelines at the field on Friday.
Dhiya Jaffar, the head of state-run South Oil Co. (SOC) told Reuters the approximately 700,000 bpd in halted output could be resumed partially from today and it could take three days in total to restore normal production at the BP and CNPC co-operated field.
Reuters quotes a nameless source saying exports were reduced by 200,000 bpd on Saturday as a result of the blasts.
Officials at the SOC said production units in Rumaila North were operating normally. No injuries have been reported.
The attack – timed to coincide with a visit to the field by the Iraqi Oil Ministry – serves as a reminder that political tensions in the South are running high, as the ruling coalition looks increasingly fractious and public disapproval of the government’s wish to keep a residual US armed forces presence in the country after 2011 increases.Â
No group has as of yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.
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