Iraq halts West Qurna 2 oilfield for maintenance - oil official

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BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Iraq has temporarily shut down its West Qurna 2 oilfield for maintenance until March 2, a state oil official with knowledge of the field's operations said on Friday.

The official said the maintenance included work on new wells and linking of new pipelines. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give statements to the media.

West Qurna 2 produces about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Iraq, the second-largest producer in OPEC, exported an average of 3.2 million bpd in January, according to its oil ministry.

The official who spoke to Reuters said Iraq would later make up for the shortfall in production.

The Iraq Oil Report, an industry magazine, earlier reported that the shutdown of West Qurna 2 would last until March 14.

(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom, writing by John Davison; editing by Jason Neely)

((John.Davison@thomsonreuters.com;))

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