Iraq's main northern oil distribution center was in flames after two mortar shells landed on it Monday night, an official with the Northern Oil Company said. Posted on 11/28/2006, 10:55:44 AM by M. Espinola
Iraq's main northern oil distribution center was in flames after two mortar shells landed on it Monday night, an official with the Northern Oil Company said.
The massive fire continued to burn despite efforts by the U.S. army, Iraqi army and civil defense brigades to put it out, he added.
A huge fire was visible from the nearby city of Kirkuk.
"This is the first time this installation has been attacked with such force," said the official, who would not reveal the extent of the damage or whether pumping had ceased.
The station is responsible for regulating the flow of crude oil from the country's rich northern oil fields around the city of Kirkuk.
Insurgents have regularly attacked the pipelines in the north, interrupting the flow of crude oil to the Baiji refinery and the export pipeline to Turkey, but generally left the pumping infrastructure alone.
Exports from the northern fields only resumed in October after a hiatus of several months due to sabotage and was pumping 250,000-300,000 barrels per day.
Most of Iraq's oil production, some two million bpd, comes from the south, although international experts agree that the northern fields are underdeveloped and could produce much more.
Well look, it's the 'heating oil man': Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (R) greets his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani (L) during a meeting in Tehran. A fresh outbreak of violence left dozens dead across Iraq as Talabani finally reached Tehran and sought help to curb the bloodshed in his war-ravaged country.(AFP)
I'm amazed this kind of thing didn't happen more often and sooner.
My opinion is Opec's Iran & Assad's Syria play a key role in keeping Opec Iraq's oil infrastructure in chaos through infiltrating trained jihadist terrorists whose sole role is to instigate inter-islamic civil war, murder American & Coalition troops along with destroying the Iraq' oil based economy.
Iraq Pipeline Watch Attacks on Iraqi pipelines, oil installations, and oil personnel:
Large Iraqi oil/natural gas map
So? Hit Iran's refineries and Damascus's electric grid. Is it so hard to understand?
I have to admit, I'm getting to be one of those people who is totally sick of all those bizarre people over there.
Wyatt's torch?
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