Production suspended at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field after drone attack, sources say

Nov 8 (Reuters) – Production was halted on Sunday at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdistan region, after a drone attack hit the field, sources said.

Two sources in the region’s electricity ministry said production at the field was suspended after a single drone strike hit the LPG storage tank, causing a fire that was still raging. Two security sources said smoke was seen rising from the field.

Employees at the field were evacuated to shelters inside the facility following the attack, the two ministry sources said.

Iraq’s prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Ali al-Zaidi, said the attack did not result in casualties, based on an initial assessment.

A joint statement by the region’s natural resources and electricity ministries described the attack on the field as a “terrorist attack,” saying they are working on minimizing its impact.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

The gas field provides supplies for regional power generation.

Some 2.8 gigawatts of power generation in the Kurdistan region was lost following the attack, the region’s electricity ministry said in a statement.

Joint field operator Dana Gas had previously shut down the main production facilities at the field in July due to credible security threats and regional tensions before restarting production later in the same month.

Iraq ‌has ⁠been among the countries most affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the strait remains disrupted as ​ships continue to ​face attacks ⁠in the area.

Baghdad has been striving to balance its ties with neighboring Iran and the ⁠US amid ​the military escalation between the two countries.

However, Tehran has launched attacks against Iranian ​Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq, while Iran-backed militants in Iraq launched attacks against Gulf neighbors earlier in the conflict.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Menna Alaa El-Din; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Nia Williams and Chris Reese)