Kurdish Prime Minister says Iraq's Khor Mor gas field will restart production in hours

Masrour barzani, the Iraqi Kurdish prime minister, said that the region of Kurdistan in Iraq had agreed to restart production at the Khor Mor field within hours, to restore electricity. This was announced on Saturday after the field suffered an attack.

Khor Mor, the largest gas field in Kurdistan, supplies power to the region.

Dana Gas, the joint field operator, announced on Thursday that a rocket struck a tank of gas late Wednesday night, causing a shutdown in production and widespread power outages. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the authorities haven't revealed who is behind it.

An industry source told us earlier this week that the storage tank was part of a new facility partially funded by the U.S., and built by an American contractor.

Barzani, in an English-language statement, said: "I spoke with the leadership of the company to thank them for their extraordinary resilience. They and their employees have shown incredible determination and endurance in the face of eleven attacks against the Khor Mor oil field."

The attack was significant because it was the first since a series in July of drone attacks that hit oilfields, reducing production by 150,000 barrels a day.

Barzani said: "I've urged the (Iraqi Prime Minister) Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, to hold perpetrators to full extent of law, wherever they may be."

The Kurdistan Regional Government has significant energy investments by U.S. firms in northern Iraq. Reporting by Muayad Alaa El Din and Menna al-Din, Editing by Toby Chopra and Kirby Donovan; Nia Williams and Toby Chopra are the editors.

(source: Reuters)