Blast briefly halts Iraq oil flow: ministry

BAGHDAD: A blast briefly halted the flow of Iraqi crude through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline with Turkey on Sunday before officials were able to reroute the exports, an Iraqi oil ministry spokesman said.

"A blast inside Turkey halted oil exports through one of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipelines early on Sunday. We managed to switch the crude flow to another line at 1400 GMT Sunday," Asim Jihad told Reuters.

Before the blast, the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline exports were were at normal levels of around 400,000 barrels per day. Jihad said they were waiting a full report from Turkey on how long it will take to repair the damage.