Iraq has restored normal output from the southern oilfields on Sunday after completing repair work on a pipeline leak that reduced oil production, two oil officials said on Monday.

The leak in the ageing pipeline - buried three metres underground - started last week due to corrosion, and Iraq had to cut output from the Rumaila oilfield as a result, said an official at Iraq's Southern Oil Co.

Production from Rumaila, the workhorse of Iraq's oil industry, was restored to around 1.35 million barrels per day (bpd) on Sunday after the pipeline leak cut output last week to 870,000 barrels, oil officials close to Rumaila operations said. – Reuters