Gas pumping from Kirkuk resumed after 6-year pause

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Ministry of Oil on Sunday resumed the pumping of gas from Kirkuk fields after a six-year hiatus, according to a ministry spokesperson. “Technical teams and engineers from the oil ministry have resumed the pumping of liquefied gas to the factory in al-Taji area,” Aasem Jihad told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The ministry has repaired the pipelines that have been damaged by sabotage,” Jihad noted, adding that oil pumping has stopped since 2003. “The transferred gas will meet the local needs of Baghdad,” Jihad added. Kirkuk, an oil-rich and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs, lies 250 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1