Oil flows in Iraq’s southern oil fields

OIL from Iraq’s southern fields began flowing through pipelines yesterday for the first time since the war, and power was restored to parts of Baghdad.

The southern oil fields had been among the first installations secured when US and British forces launched the ground war on March 20. Coalition forces, aided by Iraqi oil workers, yesterday fired up a gas-oil separation plant that sent oil to a pumping station and storage tank outside Basra.

“Our focus in restoring the oil is to give the biggest benefit to the Iraqi people,” said Brigadier General Robert Crear, the top US official charged with getting Iraq’s oil production up and running.