According to an Agence France-Presse article, “Production dropped from 1.8 million barrels per day to 950,000 barrels per day due maintenance work by Halliburton on an underwater pipeline leading to the Basra and Khor Al-Amaya.”

The pipeline, Pipeline 30, runs underwater one which off the coast of Basra to the Fao Peninsula. It is not known when Halliburton will complete its work.

Meanwhile, a fire erupted on 27 November when an oil pipeline was at the heart of a botched siphoning attempt.

The emergency services were quick to react to the fire which erupted following attempted maintenance work to patch up the attempt of suspected oil smugglers to siphon crude from the pipeline.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Raheem Kadhim told the Associated Press that theline, which connects the southern Rumailah oil fields with the Basra port, was broken on Saturday, causing a major leak.

The damage to the pipeline is expected to effect oil exports from Basra.