KRG expects major power drop after Khor Mor shutdown

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced Saturday that power supply will drop by 2,500 to 3,000 megawatts after operations were suspended at the strategic Khor Mor gas field, as its operator halted work to ensure staff safety amid rapidly escalating regional conflict.

“Due to the abnormal situation and war that has occurred in the region, and to protect the lives of the employees of the Khor Mor field, Dana Gas Company has halted the export of natural gas to electricity generation stations,” the Region’s electricity and natural resources ministries said in a joint statement.

The announcement followed strikes launched earlier Saturday by the United States and Israel against Iran, prompting Iranian retaliation that has affected several Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Footage showed missiles and explosive-laden drones intercepted over Erbil by US-led coalition forces. The regional capital hosts the largest US consulate in the world.

“As a result, electricity production capacity will be reduced by 2,500-3,000 megawatts,” the statement said, adding that the electricity ministry is “relying on other electricity production sources” to mitigate the shortfall.

The Khor Mor gas field, operated by Dana Gas, is located in the Chamchamal district of the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province.

The facility came under a drone attack in November, prompting a temporary suspension of production that immediately slashed the Region’s power generation by nearly 80 percent, reducing electricity supply from 24 hours to five to eight hours per day in most areas.

Following that incident, Kurdish officials intensified calls for air-defense systems to protect critical infrastructure, including the Khor Mor field, which has been targeted at least 11 times between 2022 and 2025, including two attacks that caused significant human and material losses.

In early December, the Iraqi government said the November attack was carried out by “two drones.”

At the time, Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said the federal defense ministry had been instructed to provide the Khor Mor facility with air-defense capabilities in coordination with the KRG “to ensure the site’s protection.”

In mid-December, US Charge d’Affaires Joshua Harris said Washington was working “very aggressively and quickly” with partners in Erbil and Baghdad to “surge systems that protect critical infrastructure” and “counter the threat posed by Iran and its proxies,” whose “missiles and drones” threaten “economic cooperation” with the United States.

Iraqi authorities later said those responsible for the Khor Mor attack had been identified, but their identities have not been disclosed publicly.