KRG urges Baghdad to prevent attacks after HKN halts oil field production
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Production has been halted at the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province following a drone attack, the Kurdistan Region’s natural resources ministry said Friday, urging Baghdad to prevent further attacks on economic infrastructure.
The Sarsang oil field, operated by the US-based HKN Energy, was targeted by two drones late Thursday, Karwan Baban, the ministry’s security advisor for oil companies, told Rudaw.
The ministry said the attack damaged the field and "caused production to be halted in it."
The Kurdistan Region has faced a series of attacks by Iran and its allied Iraqi armed groups targeting sites they claim host US forces, in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Saturday and have since escalated.
The ministry condemned the Sarsang attack, saying its aim was "to strike the economic infrastructure and resources of the people of the Kurdistan Region."
It called on the Iraqi federal government to prevent attacks targeting "civilians, economic infrastructure, and the oil and gas sector of the Kurdistan Region," placing responsibility on “parties whose areas they control [are used] to launch attacks from, harming the Region and the revenue of all of Iraq."
Other energy facilities in the Kurdistan Region have suspended operations due to safety risks.
London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum said Monday it had halted production at the Sheikhan oil field, about 60 kilometers northwest of Erbil. UAE-based Dana Gas has also halted gas exports to power generation stations in the Kurdistan Region since the onset of the conflict.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said the suspension would reduce electricity supply by between 2,500 and 3,000 megawatts, cutting round-the-clock power availability to only a few hours a day.
Over the past several days, numerous projectiles have been fired toward Erbil as the US and Israel intensified their aerial campaign against Iran, triggering Tehran’s allied armed groups in Iraq to launch drone and rocket attacks toward the Kurdistan Region, particularly Erbil province, which hosts the US consulate and military bases. Civilian infrastructure has also been targeted.
The pro-Iran Iraqi armed group Saraya Awliya al-Dam has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting US positions in Erbil.
The Sarsang oil field, operated by the US-based HKN Energy, was targeted by two drones late Thursday, Karwan Baban, the ministry’s security advisor for oil companies, told Rudaw.
The ministry said the attack damaged the field and "caused production to be halted in it."
The Kurdistan Region has faced a series of attacks by Iran and its allied Iraqi armed groups targeting sites they claim host US forces, in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Saturday and have since escalated.
The ministry condemned the Sarsang attack, saying its aim was "to strike the economic infrastructure and resources of the people of the Kurdistan Region."
It called on the Iraqi federal government to prevent attacks targeting "civilians, economic infrastructure, and the oil and gas sector of the Kurdistan Region," placing responsibility on “parties whose areas they control [are used] to launch attacks from, harming the Region and the revenue of all of Iraq."
Other energy facilities in the Kurdistan Region have suspended operations due to safety risks.
London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum said Monday it had halted production at the Sheikhan oil field, about 60 kilometers northwest of Erbil. UAE-based Dana Gas has also halted gas exports to power generation stations in the Kurdistan Region since the onset of the conflict.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said the suspension would reduce electricity supply by between 2,500 and 3,000 megawatts, cutting round-the-clock power availability to only a few hours a day.
Over the past several days, numerous projectiles have been fired toward Erbil as the US and Israel intensified their aerial campaign against Iran, triggering Tehran’s allied armed groups in Iraq to launch drone and rocket attacks toward the Kurdistan Region, particularly Erbil province, which hosts the US consulate and military bases. Civilian infrastructure has also been targeted.
The pro-Iran Iraqi armed group Saraya Awliya al-Dam has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting US positions in Erbil.