Kurdistan oil firms await air-defense guarantees

Shafaq News- Erbil

Some oil companies in the Kurdistan Region have resumed production, while others remain offline pending the air-defense and security guarantees they sought after repeated drone attacks, Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said on Thursday.

Ahmed told reporters in Erbil that crude production has partially resumed and is reaching the market.

Crude exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk were running at about 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) as of Sept. 7, with around 70,000 bpd coming from the Kurdistan Region and the remaining 150,000 bpd from Kirkuk.

Repeated drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region earlier this year forced several foreign operators to suspend or reduce production, prompting Baghdad and Erbil to discuss security guarantees and protection measures for the fields.

In June, an Iraqi military delegation visited oil facilities in Erbil and Duhok to assess air-defense requirements, while Baghdad pledged security guarantees for companies operating in the Region.

On Aug. 29, acting Natural Resources Minister Kamal Mohammed Salih said production had resumed at all oil fields except Sarsang, which remained offline after sustaining damage in drone attacks.

Read more: Kirkuk targets 1M bpd oil exports through Turkiye