Fire hydration extinguished; because it is still unknown.
Istanbul, Turkey – The fire in the main oil pipeline from Iraq has been extinguished and the system is working, said Botas, a Turkish oil pipeline operator.
An explosion occurred along the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in southeastern Turkey at Kahramanmaras around 7:30 pm (16:30 GMT) Tuesday, Botas said Wednesday, and the resulting fire spread to a nearby highway.
The Karhamanmaras government said no casualties were reported and several emergency vehicles were trying to put out the blaze.
The cause of the explosion is still being investigated.
The pipeline carries oil from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of the Mediterranean at Ceyhan, where it is loaded onto ships and shipped mainly to European consumers.
Last year, the pipelines carried about 450,000 barrels a day. In addition to the Iraqi oil pipeline, it is the only pipeline through which the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exports crude oil.
The crisis has pushed up oil prices around the world, with an increase of 1 percent on oil-free futures, costing about $ 89 per barrel, the highest since 2014, according to Reuters.
The KRG-affiliated Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been allied with the KRG, has been attacking the Turkish government for decades.
In October 2020, the PKK reportedly stormed a pipeline in the Turkish province of Mardin, near the Iraqi border.
The pipeline was briefly closed in 2015 following another PKK attack in the Turkish province of Sirnak.
The suspension costs KRG millions of dollars every day in losses, and robs them of a major source of revenue.
Turkey still maintains troops in northern Iraq and regularly drives down and down operations against PKK troops there, from the Qandil Mountains.
