Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline |
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Map of Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline
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| General information | |
| Type | Crude oil |
| Operator | Iraq Petroleum Company |
| Construction started | 1932 |
| Commissioned | 1935 |
| Decommissioned | 1948 (1954) |
| Technical information | |
| Length | 942 km (585 mi) |
| Diameter | 12 in (305 mm) |
The Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline was a very important pipeline that carried crude oil from the oil fields in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, all the way to Haifa in what was then mandatory Palestine (now Israel). It was also known as the Iraq–Haifa pipeline or the Mediterranean pipeline.
This pipeline was used from 1935 until 1948. It was about 942 kilometres (585 mi) long. The oil took about 10 days to travel from one end to the other! Once the oil reached Haifa, it was turned into fuel at the Haifa refineries. Then, it was stored and shipped to Europe in large tanker ships.
The Iraq Petroleum Company built the pipeline between 1932 and 1934. During this time, the areas the pipeline crossed were under British control. This pipeline was one of two main lines carrying oil from the Kirkuk oilfield to the Mediterranean Sea. The pipeline split into two at Haditha in Iraq. One line went to Haifa, and the other went to Tripoli, Lebanon.
The pipeline and the Haifa refineries were very important to the British government. They supplied much of the fuel needed by British and American forces during World War II.
Contents
Building the Pipeline
The Kirkuk–Haifa pipeline was a huge project. It was built to carry a lot more oil than Iraq was producing at the time. The company planned for the pipeline to carry 30,000,000 barrels of oil each year.
Workers laid about 1,180 miles (1900 km) of pipe. This pipe weighed 120,000 tons! It came from factories in France, Britain, Germany, and America. The pipes were laid at the same time in three main sections.
Special depots were set up along the route. These were places where supplies arrived and where workshops were built. One depot was at Baiji in Iraq. Another was at Mafraq in Jordan, and the third was at Homs in Syria.
Along the pipeline route, workers also installed telegraph and telephone wires. This helped them communicate across the long distance.
The first oil arrived in Haifa on October 15, 1934. The whole project cost about $50,000,000.
Pipeline Operations and Protection
The pipeline was very important, but it also faced challenges. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, some groups attacked the pipeline. To protect it, a special British-Jewish group called the Special Night Squads was formed. They worked to keep the pipeline safe. Later, another group, the Jewish Irgun also attacked the pipeline.
In 1948, the pipeline stopped working officially. This happened because of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Iraqi government decided not to pump any more oil through the pipeline to Haifa.
Even though the Haifa line stopped, the part of the pipeline that went to Tripoli, Lebanon, kept working. Other pipelines were also built later to carry oil from Kirkuk to different places.
Pumping Stations
Along the pipeline, there were many pumping stations. These stations helped push the oil through the long pipes. They were named with letters and numbers. "K" stations were from Kirkuk, "H" stations were for the Haifa line, and "T" stations were for the Tripoli line.
Here are some of the pumping stations:
- K1 35°30′55″N 044°18′49″E / 35.51528°N 44.31361°E
- K2 34°54′47″N 043°24′50″E / 34.91306°N 43.41389°E
- K3 34°04′31″N 042°21′07″E / 34.07528°N 42.35194°E
- H1 33°47′23″N 041°27′37″E / 33.78972°N 41.46028°E
- H2 33°22′38″N 040°37′04″E / 33.37722°N 40.61778°E
- H3 (H-3 Air Base)
- H4 32°30′09″N 038°11′32″E / 32.50250°N 38.19222°E
- H5 32°10′32″N 037°07′36″E / 32.17556°N 37.12667°E
- T1 34°13′37″N 041°19′50″E / 34.22694°N 41.33056°E
- T2 34°22′35″N 040°09′08″E / 34.37639°N 40.15222°E
- T3 34°31′47″N 038°44′48″E / 34.52972°N 38.74667°E
- T4
The Haifa Refinery
The refinery in Haifa was built by a company called Consolidated Refineries Ltd. It started making fuel in late 1939, right after World War II began. By 1945, the refinery was large enough to process all the oil that the pipeline could deliver from Kirkuk.
In April 1948, the refinery temporarily closed due to a worker strike. Later that year, the pipeline stopped bringing oil from Iraq.
In late 1949, the refinery started working again, but on a much smaller scale. It began using crude oil from other places, like Venezuela and Qatar. This helped Israel meet some of its fuel needs. Later, Russian crude oil was also used.
Future Pipelines
After the Kirkuk–Haifa pipeline stopped, new pipelines were planned and built.
- In 1945, work started on two new 16-inch pipelines. These were meant to add more capacity to the existing lines. However, the line to Haifa was never completed due to political issues.
- The 16-inch line to Tripoli, Lebanon, started working in 1949.
- A much larger pipeline, the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline, started carrying oil from Kirkuk to a new terminal in Syria in 1952. This pipeline could carry 300,000 barrels of oil per day!
- In 1952, another 12-inch pipeline was built. It connected the Ain Zalah oil field to the K-2 pumping station. This helped bring more oil into the main pipeline system.
See also
- Trans-Arabian Pipeline
