Kurdistan Region Oil Output Recovers to 120,000 bpd Following Drone Attacks

PUKMEDIA Archive

Oil production in the Kurdistan Region.

The EcoIraq Economic Observatory announced on Tuesday that oil production in the Kurdistan Region has risen to 120,000 barrels per day, marking a gradual recovery following a sharp decline caused by recent attacks on key oil fields.

In a press release viewed by PUKMEDIA, EcoIraq stated: “Due to attacks targeting oil infrastructure, production in the Kurdistan Region had dropped to 81,000 barrels per day. However, in recent days, output has gradually increased to approximately 120,000 barrels.”

EcoIraq expects production to reach an average of 280,000 barrels per day by the end of August, a level close to what it was prior to the attacks.

The EcoIraq noted that stabilising oil production in the region could help ease ongoing tensions between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), especially as negotiations continue over the management and export of oil. It added that no agreement has yet been reached between the Federal Ministry of Oil and the KRG regarding a timetable for resuming exports.

Earlier today, Human Rights Watch reported that unidentified groups used drones to carry out a series of attacks between 14 and 16 July, targeting five major oil fields in the Kurdistan Region, causing significant damage to energy infrastructure. The organisation described the attacks as a serious escalation in the ongoing dispute between Erbil and Baghdad over oil revenues and their distribution.

According to The New Arab, these drone strikes forced the shutdown of approximately 220,000 barrels per day, equivalent to a 70 per cent drop in the Region’s output. Since the beginning of July, the Kurdistan Region has reportedly been subjected to 20 attacks, including nine strikes on oil installations, among them Khormala, Khormor, Sarsang, Atrush, Bai Hassan, Fishkhabur, Tawke, and Hunt Oil.



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