Iraq says it averted al Qaeda tanker truck attack on major oil site

* Al Qaeda attack on major oil facility stopped * Violence surging as insurgents step up bombings By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD, May 30 (Reuters) - Iraq foiled an al Qaeda plot to use tanker trucks packed with explosives to attack a key Baghdad oil facility, a senior security official and oil sources said. The security official declined to name the facility because the investigation was underway but oil ministry officials said the security forces were on high alert following a spate of attacks on a northern pipeline. Protecting infrastructure for the world's fourth largest oil reserves is crucial for Iraq as it rebuilds an industry battered by years of war following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and sanctions against former ruler Saddam Hussein. "We have arrested a key local leader of al Qaeda who organised the plan to launch a major attack against a large oil facility in Baghdad," a senior anti-terrorism official said. The security source said insurgents planned to pack explosives into tankers transporting crude oil from southern Basra oilfields to the main oil storage depots inside the major oil facility of Baghdad, where the bombs would be detonated. "They were planning to put in explosives and booby-trap more than one oil tanker," he said. Baghdad oil facilities include the large Doura refinery, East Baghdad oilfield, which currently has limited production of around 10,000 barrels per day to feed Doura, and a gas facility just north of the capital. Militants often target security forces, and Shi'ite and Sunni mosques, but attacks on major oil sites beyond pipeline bombings are rarer. A key pipeline from Iraq's northern oilfields around Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has been repeatedly attacked by militants over the last month. Gunmen attacked a gas field operated by Korea Gas Company in April, killing three local contractors. Violence has spiked since the start of the year as al Qaeda's local wing, the Islamic State of Iraq, and other Sunni Islamist insurgents stepped up attacks to try to stoke a widescale sectarian conflict. Iraq expects to boost its oil output to rival the level of top producer Saudi Arabia after awarding some of its most attractive oilfields to global oil companies, including BP , Shell and Exxon Mobil. Iraq Minister: Shale to Have Minimal Effect on Oil Demand by Dow Jones Newswires | Hassan Hafidh | Thursday, May 30, 2013 VIENNA - Rising U.S. shale oil production will have only minimal effect on demand for crude oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meaning most members of the group want to leave their output ceiling unchanged at 30 million barrels a day, said Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby Thursday. OPEC members will discuss the selection criteria for choosing a new Secretary General at its meeting Friday and Iraq's candidate for the job, Thamer Ghadban, is still standing, Mr. Luaiby told reporters at a briefing in Vienna. Iraq will continue to increase its oil production to 3.525 million barrels a day by the end of this year, compared with 3.125 million barrels a day currently, Mr. Luaiby said. As part of talks aimed at lowering Iraq's long-term oil output target, but prolonging the period of highest production, the Iraqi government has agreed with Italian oil company Eni SpA to reduce the output target for the Zubair oil field to 850,000 barrels a day, from 1 million barrels a day previously, he said.