In a statement the firm said, “Attackers set off an explosion damaging a gas pipeline that connects the Khabbaza fields with the North Gas Co near the northern city of Kirkuk [and] firefighters [are] still working on putting out the blaze.”

“The pipeline [is] expected to be repaired in three days [and] the pipeline’s damage is likely to affect several power stations, including the Beiji power station, but it [isn’t] immediately clear by how much,” it added.

Iraq’s oil and gas infrastructure is under constant attack by anti-interim government forces keen to deny it revenue needed for the country’s reconstruction efforts.