Nassiriya shutdown will not affect Iraq’s production, exports: Oil Ministry

The lockdown of the Nassiriya oilfield by protesters will not affect the country’s production and export operations, Iraq’s oil ministry said on Sunday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The lockdown of the Nassiriya oilfield by protesters will not affect the country’s production and export operations, Iraq’s oil ministry said on Sunday.

According to a statement from the oil ministry, Iraq will rely on “additional output from southern oilfields in Basra” to make up for the “temporary” losses at Nassiriya.

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

Protesters in Iraq broke into the oilfield on Saturday, shutting down operations indefinitely.

Read More: 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.”

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.

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.

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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.