Baiji oil refinery operating full capacity

BAGHDAD: Iraq's biggest oil refinery, Baiji, was operating at full capacity on Saturday after an explosion and fire on its main gas pipeline shut down most production units, officials said.

A fire broke out at Baiji on Friday after an explosion on the primary pipeline that transports natural gas from Kirkuk's gas field to the refinery. The gas is used to operate some of its production units.

Officials said they had switched to a backup pipeline to bring gas into the plant.

"Now the refinery is operating at full capacity, there is no problem with any of the units," Shakir al-Awadh, an engineer at Baiji refinery, told Reuters.

"The incident, which happened yesterday, was outside the administrative border of Baiji refinery. The incident was a result of a leak in the gas pipeline and an electrical fault."

Officials had initially said it would take 48 hours to restore full operation at the refinery, which is situated in Baiji, about 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad.

The Baiji refinery was shut down completely for two days in February when militants attacked it, killing four workers and detonating bombs that touched off a raging fire.

A plot to bomb the refinery in March was foiled by Iraq's security forces, who last Friday also defused make-shift bombs placed inside the Doura refinery in southern Baghdad.

Iraq has signed a series of oil contracts with international firms that are expected to propel the OPEC nation into one of the world's top oil producers.

Baiji, which normally operates at about 70 percent of its 310,000 barrel per day capacity, produces 11 million litres of gasoline, 7 million litres of benzene and 4.5 million litres of kerosene a day.

Copyright Reuters, 2011