Drone strikes force shutdown several Iraqi oilfields

Oil prices have risen after multiple oilfields in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region halted production following drone strikes that targeted infrastructures operated by various companies.

IMAGE: An oilfield in Iraq. Getty Images

The attacks have reduced crude output in the region from about 280,000 b/d to 140,000 b/d to 150,000 b/d, Reuters reported citing two energy officials.

Oil production at the Sarsang oilfield operated by US-based HKN Energy was halted on Tuesday due to the attacks, the company said in a statement.

Other explosive-laden drones targeted oilfields operated by Norwegian firm DNO and US oil company Hunt Oil Company, Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism services said in a statement on social media.

Operations at DNO’s Tawke field in Kurdistan was shut following three explosions earlier this week, the company said, adding that one drone struck near a small storage tank in Tawke and the others near surface processing equipment at Peshkabir.

“Producers in Kurdistan in northern Iraq have shut in about 200,000 b/d of crude production in the wake of a spree of drone attacks,” said Vanda Insights founder Vandana Hari.

Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said initial investigations suggest the drones came from areas controlled by Iran-backed militias, according to another Reuters report.

The production halt comes amid ongoing disputes between Iraq’s federal government in Baghdad and the regional Kurdish government in Erbil over control of oil exports and revenue sharing.

The news has provided “additional support” to oil prices today, two analysts from ING Bank noted.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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