Iraq Says Saudis Ready to Help With Pipeline

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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9253CF3-6CB9-4528-8DE3-15D43FE8BFE9.htm


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Iraq is to hold talks with Saudi Arabia to reopen its 1.7 million barrel a day oil pipeline that was closed in 1990 after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.


Iraq's interim oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum said on Monday Saudi officials had shown they were ready to help Iraq get through this difficult period.

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Iraq has been seeking alternative export routes for its crude, after a series of attacks on its northern pipeline to Turkey which have deprived the war-torn country of vital oil revenues.

Without other outlets, Iraq will be unable to boost exports much beyond the capacity of the terminal at the southern port of Mina al-Bakr.