Botas to Resume Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Flow

A fire on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline that halted oil flow has been extinguished and crude flow will resume within one hour, Turkey's state pipeline operator Botas said on Wednesday.

The fire started after an explosion on Tuesday on the pipeline near Turkey's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras. The incident has added to global supply concerns and helped drive global crude prices to seven-year highs.

Botas said the fire near the pipeline had been extinguished by authorities, and added in a statement "all necessary measures have been taken by Botas teams and oil flow will start within 1 hour."

The pipeline carries crude oil from Iraq's Kurdistan region for export from Turkey's port of Ceyhan.

Kurdish crude exports averaged 10 million barrels per month between October and December, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed. So far, 5.2 million barrels have been loaded in January.

The cargoes mainly head to refineries in Mediterranean countries such as Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain, the data shows.

Brent crude futures were up 0.35% to $87.82 a barrel by 0745 GMT, adding to the previous session's jump of 1.2%. The benchmark contract climbed to as much as $89.05, its highest since Oct. 13, 2014.