Oil flow through one of the two pipelines that carry Iraqi crude to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean came to a halt following an explosion on the pipeline on Thursday.
Quoting energy officials, Turkish media reported that the blast did not cause any damage to the other pipeline which continued to transit crude from the Kirkuk area of Iraq unhindered. A Turkish security official said there were three simultaneous explosions at separate points along the pipeline in the Idil area of Turkey's Sirnak province close to the Iraqi border.
What caused the blasts was yet to be ascertained, but sabotage is frequent on oil and gas pipelines leading into Turkey from neighboring Iran and Iraq, where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) operate.
The pipeline with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day has always been a target as it transits a quarter of Iraq's crude exports from the northern Kirkuk oilfield to Ceyhan.
Turkish firemen were still battling the flames and repairs may take days, the reports added.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.