By HASSAN HAFIDH

Iraq has delayed the opening of a key oil terminal due Friday, with officials giving mixed reasons for the move.

An Iraqi Oil Ministry official blamed "technical reasons" for the delay to the single-point mooring, or SPM, buoy that would boost Iraqi oil exports by 900,000 bpd, while a senior security official at the country's oil protection force said "security threats" lay behind the postponement.

"Leighton sent us notification at the last moment saying that testing of the new SPM hasn't finished and that the opening should be postponed to indefinite time," the senior official, who asked not to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The SPM is one of four new floating terminals along with three sea pipelines that Leighton Offshore Private Ltd., part of Leighton Holdings, is constructing in the Arabian Gulf in order to boost Iraq's export capacity to 5 million bpd from 1.8 million bpd.

Iraq has had to reduce production from southern oil fields in recent months because it hasn't had adequate capacity.

Basra, where the bulk of Iraqi crude oil is produced and exported, has been the scene of deadly suicide and car bombs over the last few weeks.

Officials in Basra refused to comment on the delay.

Last year Iraq's total crude oil production capacity stood close to 3 million bpd, while exports averaged 2.165 million bpd.

This year, Baghdad is targeting an output of 3.4 million bpd and exports of around 2.6 million bpd.

Dow Jones Newswires