Iraq says Turkey partly to blame for power cuts
- Reuters
- Thursday January 17 2008
(Updates throughout)
BAGHDAD, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The halt of Turkish exports of electricity to Iraq and a lack of fuel for power stations is to blame for the blackouts hitting Iraq's northern oil fields, the Electricity Ministry said on Thursday.
The power cuts have forced Iraq to stop pumping crude oil along its northern pipeline to Turkey and knocked out its largest refinery, at Baiji.
Both Baiji and the Shuaiba refinery in southern Iraq, which was hit by a major fire on Tuesday, are out of operation. The two refineries supply the domestic market with gasoline, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene.
Iraq already suffers from chronic fuel shortages and has long struggled to meet existing local demand. The loss of the two refineries deals another blow to local fuel supply.
"The Electricity Ministry cannot provide continuous power to oil facilities unless the Oil Ministry provides us with fuel to supply the power plants," ministry spokesman Aziz Sultan said.
"Turkey has also stopped providing us with electricity. This has greatly affected the stability of power in the northern region, including Kirkuk."
Turkish power producer Kartet said on Jan. 4 it had halted exports of electricity to Iraq after the country stopped shipments of fuel oil to the company's power plant near the border.
Sultan said Electricity Minister Karim Waheed had spoken by telephone to Iraq's deputy oil minister to discuss the power crisis.
"They discussed the issue of power cuts hitting the northern oil facilities to find solutions and to determine the reasons behind this problem," he said.
Separately, Sultan said the ministry had established an emergency team to ensure that the southern Shi'ite cities of Najaf and Kerbala and the northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya had continuous electricity for the next three days for Ashura, one of the holiest events on the Shi'ite religious calendar.
The power cuts have left many parts of the country, including the capital, with less than one hour of electricity a day. (Reporting by Wisam Mohammed, writing by Ross Colvin, editing by Anthony Barker)
