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09/14/2004:

"Saboteurs Blow Up Pipeline Junction in Northern Iraq"

KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) - Saboteurs blew up a junction where multiple oil pipelines cross the Tigris River in northern Iraq on Tuesday, setting off a chain reaction in power generation systems that left the entire country without power, officials said.

Firefighters struggled to put out the blaze after the attack near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad. Crude oil cascaded down the hillside into the river. Fire burned atop the water, fueled by the gushing oil.

In Vienna, Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadhban said the country would try to keep up its production of more than 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, 2 million of which is exported daily, but he didn't say how.

"I'm confident security will be improved," al-Ghadhban said ahead of an OPEC meeting here Wednesday.

Full Article: AP News