Iraq begins pumping crude oil to Turkey

"They started pumping and everything looks normal," the official said. "We don’t know for how long they will keep pumping, it is up to Iraqis."

The oil flow to Turkey was expected to be between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels a day, about half of pre-war volumes, Dow Jones reported on Monday.

No vessels are currently booked to load at Ceyhan and oil was expected to flow for about 10 days before any ships would be sent for loading.

"First, we have to wait for the storage tanks to be filled before exports can begin," the official said.

Ceyhan already has about 500,000 barrels of Iraqi crude in stock and has a total storage capacity of around 8 million barrels.

Iraq’s oil exports resumed in June after the UN Security Council in May lifted sanctions on Iraq and recognized the US-led coalition’s authority over Iraq and its oil revenue.