Blast hits oil well in Iraq’s Kirkuk field

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Insurgents sabotaged an exporting oil well in Iraq on Friday, stepping up pressure on the U.S.-backed government struggling to steer Iraq through a political crisis over a draft constitution.

In an all too familiar scene in a country with the world’s third largest oil reserves, flames threatened to halt output from the well, which pumps 7,000 to 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) and feeds a pipeline to Turkey.

“This is a very big problem. The well head was damaged and the fire is spreading. They are trying to stop it,” the oil official told Reuters.

Iraq is exporting about 1.5 million bpd, below its pre-war capacity of 2.2 million bpd.

Reuters/Yahoo