Iraq began to export Kirkuk oil today for the first time since May and said it aimed to sell up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Supply from the giant fields to the Turkish Mediterranean at a rate of 600,000 bpd was also resumed - a further sign Iraq may be thwarting attacks that have hobbled exports from its vital Iraq-Turkey-pipeline.
An Iraqi oil official said a number of European refiners were following the lead of Tupras, the first company to seal a post-war term contract for Kirkuk oil.
"We hope to sell about 10 million barrels of Kirkuk a month through term contracts," the official said. "We're concentrating on Europe and have already had a number of requests from refiners there."
Kirkuk's reappearance on world markets will ease the export burden from Iraq's southern terminals.
But the challenge will then be for Baghdad to prevent the sabotage attacks on its vital oil network that have disrupted exports.
