Iraq has resumed crude oil exports from northern Kirkuk oil fields to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey after a week-long suspension due to an act of sabotage, a Middle East shipping agent said Monday.

Exports of some 300,000 barrels a day were suspended last Sunday as smugglers were able to cut the pipeline at al-Shurgat north of Baiji some 200 kilometer north of Baghdad in order to steal and smuggle the crude, a person familiar with the matter said last week.

"The flow was resumed as from 0600 local time on Friday," the shipping agent told Dow Jones Newswires. "Since Friday up to now, they have pumped some 2.6 million barrels," he said.

One vessel has already loaded with 1.8 million barrels and left the terminal, he said, adding that another ship will start loading in the coming few hours. Three others are waiting at anchor, he added.

The Iraq-Turkey pipeline has frequently suffered attacks, sometimes inside Turkey and on other occasions inside Iraq .
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