Explosions at Kirkuk oil fields have taken place several times in the past. (File photo: Reuters)
Oil well blown up in northern Iraq, North Oil Company says
The explosion happened in the early hours of Wednesday, most likely caused by sabotage
A well that pumps oil from the Kirkuk fields in northern Iraq was blown up on Wednesday, setting some production facilities on fire, an official at state-run North Oil Company said.
Firefighters were still at work to contain the fire at the well that pumps 2,500 barrels per day (bpd), the official said.
The explosion happened in the early hours of Wednesday, most likely caused by sabotage, he said.
The well is under the control of Kurdish peshmerga fighters that are taking part in the war on ISIS. The ultra-hardline group is deployed west of Kirkuk.
Most of Iraq’s daily production of 4.6 million bpd is produced in the southern region and exported from ports on the Gulf.
About 500,000 bpd are exported from the Kurdish self-rule region through the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
