The Associated Press
Published: November 6, 2008
ANKARA, Turkey: A blast at a pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey halted supplies and caused a large spill, officials said Thursday.
The blast late Wednesday was caused by a change in pressure in the pipeline and was not sabotage, said provincial Gov. Yusuf Yavascan. Kurdish rebels seeking autonomy in the country's south have attacked the pipeline in the past.
The explosion occurred near the town of Bozova, in the predominantly Kurdish province of Sanliurfa, which borders Syria in the country's southeast.
The pipeline connects oil fields around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk with the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
The state-run Anatolia news agency said pipeline officials stopped the oil flowing after the spill spread 2 kilometers (1 1/4 miles) from the site of the explosion. The oil stopped close to a reservoir and Yavascan said measures were taken to prevent the waters from being polluted.
Officials at the state-run BOTAS pipeline company would not immediately comment and it was not clear when the pipeline would be operational again
