The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has found itself threatened by Iranian-backed militias and by Iran over the last months and years. Since February 28, there have been around 850 drone and missile attacks on the region. Over the years, there have also been numerous attacks on oil and energy facilities in the area.
Iraq has generally looked on at the attacks with bemusement. For Iraq, it doesn’t seem to matter whether the Kurdistan Region is attacked because then the region can’t sell oil or provide itself with gas for electricity.
Now, it appears the concerns from the Kurdistan Region are being listened to in Baghdad. This comes with the arrival of a new prime minister, Ali Al Zaidi, who has been in office for two months. He has sought closer ties with the US and has claimed he will try to disarm Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
Drones cause blackouts by targeting oil fields, exports expected to increase
Zaidi’s drive to secure Iraq has meant that it now appears that the Kurdistan Region may receive some protection from drone and missile attacks. The Kurdish media outlet Rudaw noted on June 22 that “the joint security committee formed to assess the security situation of oil fields in the Kurdistan Region has completed its work and submitted its report to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, marking a step toward protecting oil fields from missile and drone attacks.”
The drones have often targeted the Khor Mor gas field. This is a large gas field not far from Sulimaniyeh on the road toward Kirkuk. It is operated by the Pearl Consortium (led by UAE-based companies Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum). It provides electricity to the Kurdistan Region. In the past year, the region has finally received electricity throughout the day.
Years ago, it was common for electricity to go off half the time; and people had generators.
Now, Rudaw notes, “According to officials, Baghdad has undertaken responsibility for guaranteeing the protection of the oil fields and the safety of workers, as international companies prepare to resume production at full capacity.” The report quotes Sipan Sherwani, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s oil and energy committee, who told Rudaw’s Ziyad Ismael on Monday that the process has reached its final stages.
“Yes, the reports are complete. They have been submitted. Zaidi has provided a guarantee in writing to the oil companies to resume their operations,” Sherwani said. “We anticipate that in the coming days, based on statements from the oil companies, oil exports from the Kurdistan Region will increase to over 205,000 barrels per day.”
The report goes on to quote Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces. He said that Baghdad is “moving ahead with defense contracts” but emphasized that “final decisions rest with the defense establishment.” He went on to say that “the Iraqi Ministry of Defense has contracts with major international companies to install an advanced air defense system… Ultimately, it is the vision of Iraq and the Ministry of Defense that determines the necessary type of defense system, its source, and the mechanism of the contract.”
Rudaw said that “Erbil and Baghdad have also agreed on a broader security arrangement in which, once air defense systems are installed near the oil fields, Peshmerga forces will remain deployed in these locations after receiving training. Their role would be to protect oil infrastructure from potential drone and missile attacks by outlaw groups.”
This is important for the region. Oil and gas in Iraq are now a key aspect of trade routes to Syria and Turkey. There are talks about a pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan, for instance. Iraq is also trucking oil to Baniyas in Syria. Now that the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iraqi oil will begin moving around the world again.
Iraqi production dropped by 3 m. barrels per day
Rudaw noted, “Oil companies resuming operations in the Kurdistan Region fall into three categories: those damaged by drone attacks needing up to a year to recover, undamaged firms restarting within weeks, and others outside the Baghdad-deal currently in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).”
Iraq is producing 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to around 4.5 million before the Iran conflict.
Iraq wants more exports to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. “This would consist of 250,000 barrels from the Kurdistan Region, 250,000 barrels from Kirkuk, and another 250,000 barrels from fields in central and southern Iraq, which would be transported by tanker to Kirkuk and exported through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline,” a source told Rudaw.
Preventing attacks on energy infrastructure is key to making the Kurdistan region secure, as well as enabling stability in Iraq.
As this happens, the Kurdistan region is also seeking to unify its Peshmerga armed forces. Iran is also providing tacit approval to Baghdad’s claims of disarming armed groups.
Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadeq, said to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that Iraq’s decision to disarm groups is “an internal Iraqi matter.”
The Islamic Republic claims to “respect any decision the Iraqi government makes in this regard.” Iran likely thinks Iraq is bluffing in terms of actually disarming the Iranian-backed militias.