A BOMB attack an Iraqi oil pipeline has halted exports for at least a week.
The pipeline shifts 350,000-400,000 barrels of crude a day to the Turkish port Ceyhan, where is it loaded onto ships.
Repairs were expected to take four days but today an employee of Iraq's state-owned Northern Oil Company said: "We will need another seven days."
The attack took place last week in the Salahuddin Province near Shirqat, a former hotbed of support for Al-Qaeda.
It is the second pipeline bombing in less than a month and raises fears of further attacks aimed at stunting Iraq's oil infrastructure.
The attacks come after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki signed contracts with foreign oil companies and are an attempt to undermine his chances of success in next year's election.
BP and China's CNPC secured rights to drill in Rumailla, Iraq's biggest oil field, while Exxon Mobil and Italy's Eni have made initial deals to operate the Zubair and West Qurna Phase One oil fields.
Last month, Iraq exported 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd), bringing in 4.2 billion dollars in revenues.
In September, the country exported 1.95 million bpd and raised 3.8 billion dollars.
Iraq currently produces around 2.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, two million barrels of which are intended for export, but Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani wants production to be ramped up to between 10 and 12 million bpd within six years.
Around 85 percent of Iraqi government revenues are from oil sales.
Iraq has the world's third largest proven reserves of oil, with more than 115 billion barrels, behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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