An oil pipeline linking Iraq's Kirkuk fields to Turkey's Ceyhan port was repaired on Friday and export levels were expected to return to normal within 24 hours, two sources at the state-run North Oil Company said.

"We started a test flow at around 1630 local time (1330 GMT) and exports will be restored to normal rates of more than 90,000 barrels per day within 24 hours," one of the officials said.

Operations were halted on Monday morning because of a "technical defect" in the pipeline from a field near Dibis, 45 km northwest of Kirkuk, which caused crude to spill.

Repairs have taken longer than originally expected, but it was not immediately clear why.-Reuters