Iraq's oil export decline in January

Iraq's oil export decreased in January to 2.228 million barrels per day (bpd) mainly due to attacks on a major oil pipeline, the Oil Ministry said on Monday. The drop, from last December's 2.341 million bpd, was attributed to sabotage attacks on the oil pipeline linking Kirkuk' s northern oilfields and Turkey, in addition to bad weather and maintenance operations in the southern terminals, an official from the ministry told Xinhua. In January, Iraq exported 2.036 million bpd from the southern port of Basra, and 192,000 bpd via Turkey's port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, the official said. Oil export from the southern oil-hub of Basra will increase in February after the completion of a new platform at ports there, he added. Iraq's economy is heavily dependent on crude, which account for nearly 95 percent of government revenues. In 2010, Iraq announced that its proven oil reserves had increased to 143.1 billion barrels from the previous estimation of 115 billion.