It is the second major fire to damage Iraqi pipelines this month with locals blaming both on sabotage. However, US officials claim the first explosion was the result of gas leaking from the main export pipeline from the Kirkuk oilfields to Turkey.
The oil pipeline at Hit, with a gas pipeline alongside it, was built in the 1980s to connect Iraq's southern and northern oilfields, enabling exports to flow smoothly.
Iraq, which exported around two million barrels per day before the US-led war, relaunched oil sales yesterday from eight million barrels stored in Turkey. A Turkish tanker loaded a million barrels of oil bound for Turkish refineries from the Mediterranean terminal of Ceyhan.
Post-war looting, sabotage and the absence of an effective administration have delayed the resumption of Iraq's oil exports.
