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Article: Engineers fight to protect Iraq's vital oil pipelines
- Article from:
- Daily Breeze
- Article date:
- September 15, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Daily Breeze. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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KIRKUK, Iraq -- Saboteurs wrecked a recently repaired pipeline
junction Tuesday and the fire set off a cascade of power blackouts
that underlined the frustrations faced by U.S. engineers trying to
upgrade northern Iraq's creaky oil facilities in the face of
relentless bombings.
The 3 a.m. attack blew up a junction where multiple oil pipelines
cross the Tigris River at the northern city of Beiji. The burning oil
melted power cables, causing a short that knocked power plants off
line and cut off electricity across Iraq until late afternoon,
officials said.
The breach also shut down the pipeline ferrying crude oil from
Kirkuk's huge oilfield to an export terminal in Ceyhan, Turkey. With
crude ...