- TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) -
Iraq's oil pipeline to Turkey will not export oil for at least five more
weeks, a top U.S. Army official in the region said, further hampering efforts
to revive the stricken post-war economy.
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- "We've had a spike in these attacks over the last
three weeks," Col. Robert Nicholson, head of engineers for the Fourth
Infantry Division, said Monday.
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- Washington had originally hoped for much earlier oil
revenue to fund reconstruction after a devastating war and years of United
Nations sanctions against deposed leader Saddam Hussein.
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- But despite army patrols and the hiring of Iraqi guards,
anti-American guerrillas have forced closure of the pipeline the United
States had hoped would export up to 600,000 barrels a day by year's end.
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- The U.S. failure to protect the pipeline reflects what
many Iraqis perceive as an intensifying guerrilla war to undermine rebuilding
efforts.
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- The latest fire was started last week and damaged four
pipelines, including part of the export line, said Nicholson, who supervises
U.S. engineers from Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.
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- "If all goes well and there are no new incidents
then exports will start after three weeks of repairs and a further two
weeks of testing," he said.
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- The pipeline brings oil from Iraq's northern fields around
Kirkuk. Nicholson said he hoped the fields can produce at their prewar
capacity of about 800,000 bpd by year end, up from about 500,000 bpd currently.
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- Too little investment and poor management under Saddam's
government meant the pipeline was also was so badly corroded the United
States plans to build a replacement line in the section from Kirkuk to
Baiji.
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- Baiji, Iraq's largest refinery, is processing about 210,000
bpd, or about 70 percent of its capacity, for domestic consumption.
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