Drone attack shuts US-run oil field in Iraq’s north
BAGHDAD
A drone strike forced a U.S. company to suspend operations at an oil field in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on July 15, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the region's energy infrastructure.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province was hit, denouncing the strike "an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region's vital economic infrastructure.”
The attack followed similar drone strikes a day earlier on an airport hosting U.S. troops and another on an oil field in neighboring Erbil province.
HKN Energy, the U.S. firm operating the Sarsang site, said, "Operations at the affected facility have been suspended until the site is secured.”
Long plagued by conflict, Iraq frequently experiences such attacks, often linked to regional proxy struggles between Iran and the United States and its ally Israel.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad denounced "the recent drone attacks throughout Iraq,” including strikes on "critical infrastructure" at oil fields in the north.
"These attacks are unacceptable," the embassy said. The Iraqi government "must exercise its authority to prevent armed actors from launching these attacks against sites... including locations where Iraqi and international companies have invested in Iraq's future," it added.
The latest attacks come at a time of heightened tension between Baghdad and Erbil over oil exports, with a major pipeline through Türkiye shut since 2023 over legal disputes and technical issues.
A few hours after the June 15 drone attack, Iraq's Oil Ministry announced an initial agreement with HKN Energy to develop the Hamrin oil field in Salaheddin province.
