Iraq plans to build a new pipeline that will ship oil from Kirkuk's oilfields to the Ceyhan port in Turkey, the oil ministry said on Sunday, reports Reuters.
The new pipeline will replace an old and severely damaged section of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. It will start from the nearby city of Baiji city and span until the Fish-Khabur border area with Turkey, the ministry said in a statement.
The territory in which the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline ran was taken by Islamic State militants in 2014 and subsequently recaptured by US-backed Iraqi forces over the past two years.
Another report from Moscow adds: Russia said on Friday it is ready to support extending a deal among oil producers on cutting output, less than a week before OPEC meets in Vienna to discuss policy, although it has yet to say how long it should be for.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia would discuss the details of an extension of the global deal on Nov 30, but made no mention of how long this should last beyond its March expiry.
"We see that 50 per cent of oil stockpiles have been removed, the oil price has reached its balance," Novak told RBC TV.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and several other major producers have cut their combined output by about 1.8 million barrels per day since January to reduce bloated inventories and boost oil prices.
"However, the targets on rebalancing the market have not been reached. Everyone supports the extension, so that the targets are finally reached," Novak said, adding that "different options are under consideration".
