Protesters in Iraq shut down Nassiriya oilfield

According to oil sources, demonstrators who stormed the facility forced staff to cut off electricity from the main control station while they chanted “no homeland, no oil.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Protesters in Iraq have broken into the Nassiriya oilfield, shutting down operations indefinitely, security and oil sources reported on Saturday.

According to oil sources, demonstrators who stormed the facility forced staff to cut off electricity from the main control station while they chanted “no homeland, no oil.”

The Nassiriya oilfield produces 90,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Although protesters have blocked entrances to oilfields and key ports during Iraq’s nationwide protests, Saturday marks the first instance where they have shut down an entire facility.

Oil exports make up 90 percent of Iraq’s economy. The country is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) second largest producer.

No foreign companies operate at the Nassiriya oilfield.

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Iraq has been engulfed in anti-government protests for nearly three months now, where over 500 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and demonstrators, and thousands of others injured.

The protests in Iraq reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, availability of jobs, the dismal state of public services, and widespread government corruption.

Demonstrators demand that the next prime minister be independent and someone who has never held a ministerial position in successive governments.