Pipeline test causes oil slick near Iraq’s Mosul
Shafaq News- Nineveh
An oil slick appeared in the Tigris River west of Mosul following a test run of the Kirkuk–Turkiye crude oil pipeline, Nineveh Environment Department Director Abdul Moneim Darrar told Shafaq News on Saturday.
Trial pumping revealed pipeline damage caused by earlier acts of sabotage, prompting an immediate halt to oil pumping.
North Oil Company crews recently began cleanup operations and contained the slick with an earthen barrier near Al-Ashiq village, west of Mosul, to prevent it from spreading along the river. The Nineveh Environment Directorate had been aware of the incident since November 9, but it was not publicly disclosed, according to Darrar.
Nineveh's Water Directorate had ordered all water treatment plants in the province to shut as a precaution after oil slicks appeared in the river. Operations will resume once water safety is confirmed, although no reopening time has been announced.
