Crude oil flows through the Kurdish pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan have dropped sharply to around 225,000 barrels per day, a shipping source said yesterday without providing the reason. Flows typically run at around 600,000 bpd and stood at around 500,000 bpd on Tuesday, he said.

On Tuesday Iraqi forces took control of the Bai Hasan and Avana oilfields northwest of Kirkuk, after Kurdish Peshmerga fighters pulled out from the region. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the advance on the two fields in the wake of the Kurdish independence referendum last month.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi has asked BP "to quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oifields," an oil ministry statement said.

BP says on its website it has provided technical assistance in the past to the Iraqi state-owned North Oil Company to aid the redevelopment of the Kirkuk field.

Kirkuk is estimated to have around 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil remaining, according to BP.