A fire on a pipeline carrying about a quarter of Iraq's oil exports forced the closure of the link on Monday and halted loading at Turkey's Ceyhan export terminal.

The cause of the fire on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey's Sirnak province near the Iraqi border was not immediately known, but authorities suspected sabotage.

An Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman said Iraq had halted exports due to the fire, which broke out at 12:35 a.m. (2135 GMT), and that it expected Turkey to open the link's second pipe to resume exports.