KRG Deputy PM says Erbil will liaise with Baghdad to limit attacks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Region said on Saturday that the recent attacks targeting the Khor Mor gas field would not impact the Region’s gas production, adding that Erbil would work with Baghdad to limit attacks.  

Qubad Talabani visited the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani’s Chamchamal district hours after a third rocket attack targeted the site in under a week.

Talabani was accompanied by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) minister of Peshmerga affairs and acting minister of oil and natural resources during the visit aimed at reassuring employees at the gas field of their safety and protection, according to a KRG statement.

During the meeting, Talabani stated that the KRG would raise the issue with authorities in Baghdad to prevent the repetition of such attacks. He also guaranteed that the incidents would not impact the Kurdistan Region’s production of natural gas. 

On Saturday, at least one rocket struck the gas field operated by UAE-based Dana Gas without causing casualties. The same area was also targeted on Wednesday and Friday, with two contractors being slightly injured in the first attack.

Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the rocket attacks on Khor Mor gas field later on Saturday, saying they are “targeting the stability of the country and targeting the national economy.”

“We have no choice but to stand firmly against these vicious criminal attempts, and all national forces must unite to support the security services,” he tweeted.

Khor Mor field produces 452 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to Dana Gas.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks targeting the Khor Mor gas field which come at a time of growing ambitions by Kurdish authorities to export gas. Tension has also surged between Baghdad and Erbil since Iraq’s top court deemed the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas law to be “unconstitutional.”