The field in northern Iraq's Kurdistan was targeted as attacks in the region step up amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, writes Bachar Halabi
The Khor Mor gas field in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq was hit by a "suspected drone" on 25 January, causing production to be temporarily suspended.
A "liquid storage" tank at the field was hit and production was temporarily suspended to put out a fire, Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas said at the time. Gas deliveries to power plants in the Kurdistan region were also halted as a safety precaution, leading to a 2,800MW drop in electricity generation, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) electricity ministry said.
Khor Mor and Kurdistan's Chemchemal gas field are operated by the Pearl Petroleum consortium, which comprises Dana Gas and Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum. They supply gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian. The two fields combined produce around 16,000 b/d of condensate and 1,000 t/d of LPG.
The Khor Mor field has often been targeted in recent years, with local officials attributing the attacks mostly to pro-Iran groups. But the suspected drone attack is the first in a year and follows attacks carried out by Tehran and Iran-backed militant groups in the region against a background of heightened tensions across the Middle East caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict. Iran-backed Shia militias have taken the opportunity to step up attacks on US forces in Iraq in what they claim is a form of support for Hamas, making Iraq a proxy battlefield between Washington and Tehran.
