An oil pipeline linking Iraq's Kirkuk fields to Turkey's Ceyhan port was repaired on Friday and export levels were expected to return to normal within 24 hours, two sources at the state-run North Oil Company said. "We started a test flow at around 16:30 local time and exports will be restored to normal rates of more than 90,000 barrels per day within 24 hours," one of the officials said, Reuters reported. Operations were halted on Monday morning because of a technical defect in the pipeline from a field near Dibis, 45 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk, which caused crude to spill. Repairs have taken longer than originally expected, but it was not immediately clear why. Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports rose to 3.2 million barrels per day on average in July, up from 3.175 million bpd in June, as the OPEC nation increased crude production. Fields operated by foreign companies in southern Iraq also contributed to the July increase, sources with the knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
