OREANDA-NEWS. Exports of Iraq's smaller crude stream Kirkuk are set to rise in November now that the severe loading delays seen over the summer have been worked through, a preliminary loading programme showed.

November exports have been pegged at 330,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from about 245,000 bpd in October.

Due to a prolonged shutdown of the Kirkuk pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, exports were held up by nearly a month this summer with August cargoes still being cleared in September.

State marketer SOMO allocated fewer cargoes in September and October to prevent a further build-up, traders said.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline had a severe leakage problem starting in June and was then bombed several times after it was repaired. It was most recently hit in September.