Fire breaks out at Kirkuk oil well likely from a bomb - police

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – A big fire has broken out in a Kirkuk oil well Monday morning, a police official told Rudaw, adding that the fire is potentially from an act of terrorism.

 

The fire had not been contained as of Monday afternoon. 

  

Brig. Sarhad Qadir, Kirkuk Suburban Police Chief, told Rudaw that the oil well was set on fire at 4:30 a.m. on Monday.

 

The oil well is located in the village of Shirnawi that comes under the administration of Dubiz district, south of Kirkuk.

 

He said that they have begun investigating the incident, adding that the cause of the fire could come from a “terrorist” activity, in particular an improvised explosive device (IED).

Qadir described the fire as big, and that it has not been extinguished yet.

 

Kirkuk, home to a large number of oilfields, currently exports its oil to the world market through the Ceyhan port in Turkey. Two oil fields in Kirkuk are under the control of the Kurdistan Region and three others by the Iraqi government’s North Oil Company (NOC).