The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline explosion will not affect oil prices, expert says

Shafaq News / Oil expert, Hamza al-Jawahiri, said that the explosion that affected the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline will not affect oil prices.

Al-Jawahiri told Shafaq News agency that the pipeline exports small quantities of oil reaching 620,000 barrels a day, through Europe, Turkey, and the US.

The pipeline can be fixed in no time since it is inside Turkish territories where maintenance teams are always ready, he indicated, noting that the pipeline will take two days maximum to be fixed, and then everything will go back to normal.

Turkey's state pipeline operator has put out a blaze following an explosion that cut oil flow at the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline near the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, it said.

Tuesday's accident was the latest in a series of supply disruptions that have driven global crude prices to seven-year highs.

The fire that erupted after the explosion has been extinguished, while firefighters and emergency units engage in cooling efforts, said the operator, Botas.

"The oil pipeline will be operational as soon as possible after necessary precautions are taken," it said in a statement, adding that the reason for the blast, close to the 511th kilometer of the pipeline, was unknown.

Brent crude futures rose $1.04, or 1.2%, to $88.55 a barrel by 0351 GMT, adding to the previous session's jump of 1.2%. The benchmark contract climbed to as much as $89.05, its highest since Oct. 13, 2014.

The pipeline carries crude oil from Kurdistan for export from Turkey's port of Ceyhan.

Kurdish crude exports averaged 10 million barrels per month between October and December, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed. So far, 5.2 million barrels have been loaded in January.

The cargoes mainly head to refineries in Mediterranean countries such as Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain, data showed.