Alleged pipeline bombers arrested

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By Ali Abu Iraq, Ben Lando, Adam al-Atbi and Staff of Iraq Oil Report
Published December 29, 2011

BASRA - Iraq's beleaguered security forces are touting a victory in one of the most crucial aspects of securing the country -- the arrest of what Oil Police officials call "a gang" that has been successfully targeting vital oil export pipelines in Basra, where the world's largest international oil companies are developing the country's sole source of income.

"We seized the possession of these perpetrators, guns, mortars and medium and light weapons and explosive devices, grenades, rocket launcher and explosives, as well as, different ammunition and a welding machine, cables and others items," Brig. Gen. Musa Abdul Hassan, the chief of the South Oil Police, said during a tour for journalists in a tomato farm where six blindfolded and bound suspects were kneeling in front of a cache of weapons and dozens of Iraqi security force members.

Assailants have at least twice since October cut exports from the Rumaila field -- the country's largest, producing 1.4 million of Iraq's 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd), being developed by BP, the China National Oil Corp. and state-run South Oil Company -- by blowing up pipelines between the field and the Zubair pumping station, which sends the crude to export.

The most recent was Dec. 15, which immediately cut in half all of Rumaila's output, because the crude had no immediate alternate route.

Earlier this month, the former chief of the Interior Ministry's Oil Police and the new head of an umbrella task force guarding vital infrastructure said the government was going to dedicate new resources and funding to oil infrastructure protection.

Attacks on the oil sector are one uncertainty the country can't afford, especially now.

It comes as Iraq's 21-month political crisis comes to a head amidst cross accusations of political leaders reneging on political deals, engaging in terrorism, and making moves deemed alternately aimed at consolidating exclusive power or breaking up the country.

And from this fight for power between those tasked with protecting the country creates an unclear path toward implementing a broad security plan.

More than 100 people were killed and more than 250 people were injured this past week alone in Iraq as December is on pace to be one of the most deadly months for Iraqi citizens in years.

Dozens of the world's largest oil companies are investing billions of dollars in oil contracts in Iraq, and the country itself relies on oil sales for 95 percent of state income totalling $76 billion through November this year.

Security is one of the biggest expenses that these companies essentially bill the Iraqi government to cover. And if it worsens it could prevent work being carried out, as it did during the height of post-2003 violence between 2005-2007.

This week in Diyala province, north of Baghdad, a bomb planted behind the province's Oil Products Distribution Company headquarters, part of the Oil Ministry, was diffused by the province's bomb squad. Two people were arrested after the bomb was discovered and the area searched, south of the provincial capital of Baquba.

Just east of Baquba, a worker in the Oil Ministry's facilities protection service was shot near his home in Nida, Diyala. He had minor injuries

And back in Basra this week, Faisal al-Abbadi of the Basra police said a bomb was disarmed after being discovered "under a pipeline to transport oil products from the south refineries to el-Mufitiya refinery in Basra."

This year has seen both an increase in attacks on the oil sector -- such as the surprise attack on the Beiji refinery by al-Qaida in February, and bombs that exploded or were discovered in time at the Daura and Basra refineries, and Zubair tank farm.

On the tomato farm just south of Safwan, west of Basra city near the border wtih Kuwait, and seven kilometers from where new pipelines replaced those bombed earlier this month, Brig. Gen. Hassan took journalists and other security officials to what he called the source of the recent bombings.

It was as much a show of force and message as it was theater (since the detainees were found there at least the day earlier, not fresh catches).

"We have arrested today, a gang suspected of links to oil pipeline bombings," Hassan said. "The gang consists of six people suspected of links to the bombings, which affected oil pipelines about three times within a three months period, most recently two weeks ago."

He said the arrest "came after raid and search operations in the farms surrounding the al-Burjisiyah area and South Rumaila, conducted over the past 14 days."

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