As much as 200,000 b/d of oil production was shut-in in Iraqi Kurdistan this week after a series of drone attacks on key producing fields. This was the first time that oil fields in the semi-autonomous region have been targeted, resulting in the loss of as much as two thirds of the region’s oil production. A lengthy outage would be a major economic blow for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been behind previous such strikes on Kurdistan’s energy sector, primarily targeting the Khor Mor gas field which was not targeted in the latest assaults (MEES, 3 May 2024). This week’s coordinated strikes (see table) have been on a much larger scale than previous incidents, and for the first time targeted oil fields, all but one of which are operated by foreign energy companies. (CONTINUED - 1378 WORDS)

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