Iraq Fields Reduce Operations With Little Sign of Restart to Ceyhan Exports

Iraqi pipeline exports to the Turkish port of Ceyhan show few signs of restarting following the forced halt of around 470kbpd of crude from the northern region on 25 March.

• Fields that had initially continued producing are now offline or operating with reduced output. The 4.5kbpd Taq Taq field is no longer producing into storage and the Khurmala field is now producing at about 50kbpd down from 100kbpd a month ago and 135kbpd before the pipeline stoppage according to Reuters sources.
• Iraq previously asked to resume pipeline flows and loading operations at Ceyhan on May 13 but has yet to receive a response from Turkey. Turkish pipeline operator BOTAS said it needed more time for technical pipeline checks according to an Iraqi official and has yet to receive instruction from Turkish authorities.
• Iraqi government officials have also previously blamed Turkish elections for the delay with a run-off scheduled for May 28.
• "We're talking about weeks, not days, as an expected time frame to resume exports. This issue is more political now than technical," said a Reuters source.