Iraq crude stuck at field for third day as protests cut roads

About 90,000 barrels of crude oil meant for export were trapped at a northern Iraq field on Thursday because transport routes were cut by protests, an industry source told AFP.

Anti-government demonstrations have rocked Iraq's capital and its south, with sit-ins increasingly targeting main roads and state infrastructure -- including oil fields -- in OPEC's second-biggest producer.

The Qayyarah field in northern Iraq produces 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil that is trucked to the southern port of Basra to be exported, but sit-ins have sealed off some of those roads.

A senior source at the North Oil Company, which manages the Qayyarah field, told AFP on Thursday that trucks were unable to carry out that journey for a third consecutive day.

"These trucks usually transport the oil daily, but have been unable to do so since Tuesday because of what's happening in Basra," the source said.

"I don't know when it will resume as it depends on the situation stabilising and the roads being reopened."