Uprising halves Iraq oil exports

Iraq's oil exports are still running at half their normal rates as a Shi'ite uprising prevented the re-opening a main export pipeline and shut the South Oil Company's headquarters. Exports have been around 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) for nearly a week, since the southern pipeline was attacked by saboteurs and while a U.S. offensive against the followers of Moqtada al-Sadr extended to several Iraqi cities. The unrest and a threat by followers of the Shi'ite cleric to attack the oil infrastructure in response to the U.S. offensive have kept Iraq from reopening the 48-inch pipeline and reaching its August export goal of 1.8 million bpd. An Iraqi oil official said it was impossible to say how long the threat from the uprising would cripple oil sales, the country's key revenue earner. [more ]