Awwal 29, 1432 H/March 4, 2011, SPA -- Production returned back to normal at Iraq's largest oil refinery after a deadly attack damaged three production units last week, Minister of Oil Abdul-Karim El-Lueby said Friday, according to dpa. "The unit began operating and reached a production level of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd)," El-Lueby told state TV al-Iraqiyah about the refinery located in Beiji, some 200 kilometres north of Baghdad. The plant was shut down after gunmen attacked it last Saturday, killing four engineers and wounding three workers, and bombing three production units. El-Lueby had described the attack as a "plan against the economy, aimed at undermining services for Iraqi citizens." The Beiji refinery is a main fuel supplier for several electricity power stations. The ministry said Thursday that crude oil exports reached 2.2. million bpd in February, up from 2.1 million bpd previously, and Iraq's highest volume since 1989. -- SPA
