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Iraqs biggest oil refinery at Baiji is set to restart processing in about three months after government troops forced Islamic State armed militants away from the facility.

Iraqi troops will expel the militants from areas near a pipeline supplying the refinery 130 miles (209 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Colonel Khalaf al-Jabouri, a member of Iraqs anti-terror forces, said by phone. It will take about three months to restart the plant because workers have fled to other provinces, refinery units need maintenance and militants still control part of the pipeline network, according to Saad al-Azzawi, an engineer at Baiji.

We will secure the pipeline network that feeds oil to the refinery, al-Jabouri said yesterday. The Iraqi forces are now seeking to clear the path where the pipelines pass through to pump the oil to Baiji and also to export the crude to Turkey.

The Baiji plant has been at the center of repeated attacks since June as Islamic State militants attempted to seize the facility, seeking to secure fuel and funding for an Islamic caliphate they proclaimed in areas stretching across the Iraqi-Syrian border. Militants controlled the 310,000 barrel-a-day plant for about a week in June.

Iraq has started to assess damage at the facility and is removing any unexploded ammunition found nearby, said Fayyad Al-Nima, Iraqs deputy oil minister for refining affairs. The assessment may take one week, he said.

Baiji has about 40 percent of Iraqs refining capacity and its halt prompted the government to import more oil products and fuel, and tap strategic reserves to prevent shortages. State-run North Oil Co. manages the facility.

Iraq, with the worlds fifth-biggest crude reserves, is the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Saudi Arabia. While fighting spurred companies including BP Plc (BP/) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to evacuate workers from the countrys north, Iraq pumps and exports most of its crude from the Shiite-dominated south, where the Sunni insurgency has had little impact.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kadhim Ajrash in Baghdad at kajrash@bloomberg.net; Khalid Al-Ansary in Baghdad at kalansary@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net Claudia Carpenter, Bruce Stanley

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Iraqs Biggest Oil Refinery to Reopen as Army Repels Militants