ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Canadian oil company ShaMaran Petroleum has temporarily suspened production and pipeline exports at the Atrush and Sarsang oil fields in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province due to the deteriorating regional security situation, their statement said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the company said that "production and pipeline exports at the Atrush and Sarsang fields have been temporarily shut-in due to the deterioration of the regional security environment."
ShaMaran added that it is "closely monitoring the regional security situation in order to protect our field personnel and assets, and we will restart production when deemed safe to do so."
The announcement comes less than a week after ShaMaran reported that operations and exports had resumed at both fields following an earlier suspension caused by the US-Iran war which began in late February.
When it resumed operations in mid-July, the company said the Atrush field was producing around 37,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), with output expected to exceed 40,000 bpd. Production at the Sarsang field, however, had fallen to 7,000 bpd after it was struck twice during the Iran war, causing significant damage to storage facilities and production equipment.
Before the six-week conflict began in early February, Atrush was producing about 30,000 bpd while Sarsang was producing 27,000 bpd.
ShaMaran Petroleum Ltd. is a Canadian independent oil and gas exploration and production company with assets in the Kurdistan Region. ShaMaran began production in Sarsang in 2014 and Atrush field in 2017.
The working interests in the Atrush oil field are structured with ShaMaran holding 50 percent, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) holding 25 percent, and American company HKN Energy holding 25 percent as operator.
In the Sarsang field, HKN Energy holds a 62 percent interest as operator, while ShaMaran holds 18 percent and the KRG holds 20 percent.
The latest shutdown follows a broader wave of energy sector disruptions across the Kurdistan Region and is among several firms who initiated shut-ins this week such as UAE-based Dana Gas, which suspended operations at the Khor Mor gas field on Thursday after citing "credible threats" following a series of drone attacks targeting Erbil amid renewed US-Iran tensions.
On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaidi reportedly instructed the defense ministry to secure the Khor Mor field and assured operating companies that the government would "guarantee the safety of operating companies," with production expected to resume within days.
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