AI-generated illustration · Source : Reuters' X
CHAMCHAMAL, Iraq, November 8 – Production at the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region was suspended after an attack late on Sunday, cutting gas supplies to the region’s power stations, Kurdish authorities and sources said.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity said in a joint statement that “at 11pm, the Khor Mor gas field came under a terrorist attack,” without elaborating, according to AFP. A Kurdish security source told AFP that an “explosive-laden drone” hit the field. Reuters reported that production was suspended after a drone attack, citing sources.
The attack set off a fire and caused heavy damage, a source at the field told the Iraqi outlet 964media. Workers were moved to protected areas and concrete shelters when the alarm sounded, the outlet said. A second source said it was not yet certain whether a drone or a rocket hit the field, though debris collected at the site suggested a drone.
The KRG Electricity Ministry said its generation capacity would drop by about 2,800 megawatts after the field went offline, Rudaw reported. Ministry spokesperson Omed Ahmad told Kurdistan24 that the ministry would activate hydropower stations at the Dukan and Darbandikhan dams, along with power stations that can run on alternative fuels, to prevent a region-wide blackout and keep hospitals and water stations supplied.
Ahmad said the restoration of normal electricity supplies depended on the resumption of gas production at Khor Mor, according to Kurdistan24.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered a joint investigation with the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region into the circumstances of the attack, his office said early on Monday, 964media reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and it was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt, 964media said.
Khor Mor, in Chamchamal district of Sulaymaniyah province, produces about 750 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. Its operators, the UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, say it fuels more than 80% of the region’s electricity generation, according to 964media.
The field has been hit repeatedly by rocket and drone attacks. A drone strike in April 2024 killed four Yemeni workers, 964media reported. Rudaw said Sunday’s attack came after a lull of nearly four months in attacks on the field.
Source: Reuters’ X; AFP; Rudaw; Kurdistan24; 964media
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