The order to halt pumping through the pipeline came from the oil ministry in Baghdad, a company official, who asked not be identified, said. 

“There is no technical failure, it’s a decision from Baghdad,” he said.

North Oil is continuing to produce the crude, but storing it in Kirkuk instead of exporting it through the pipeline, he said.

The company normally exports 150,000 barrels a day through the pipeline that carries the crude to the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan, passing through territory of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). A KRG official confirmed the pipeline is not receiving crude from North Oil.