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BAGHDAD, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Iraq's northern pipeline, which takes crude to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, will resume pumping on Friday after being damaged by a blast earlier this week, an Iraqi oil ministry official said on Thursday. The explosion that hit the Kirkuk oil pipeline on Monday was probably caused by insurgents and hit part of the line near the volatile city of Mosul, some 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
"The North Oil Company crew, who are working on repairing the line since Monday, managed to replace the damaged parts of the pipeline, which was six metres in length," Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters.
"The pumping will resume on Friday ... North Oil will increase the quantities of the crude pumped to reach 700,000 barrels per day to compensate for the missed periods."
Jihad told Reuters earlier this week that he expected the line to resume pumping on Wednesday. He did not say how long Iraq's North Oil would pump at 700,000 bdp. Workers would have a test run on Thursday before actual pumping started, he said.
Attacks against Iraq's oil infrastructure have declined as violence subsides throughout the country, which is trying to rebuild after years of war, sanctions and strife. It is working on deals with oil majors that would substantially boost output in a nation with the world's third largest crude reserves. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, editing by Anthony Barker)