Last well torched by IS in Iraq has been extinguished: Oil Minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi on Monday announced that the last well on fire at the Ajil oilfield had been extinguished, years after it was ignited by the Islamic State (IS).

Luaibi confirmed that the well at Ajil, an oilfield located in Salahuddin Province, north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, was now under the control of Iraqi authorities.

“The technical and engineering staff of the North Oil Company and supporters from oil companies and civil defense units were able to extinguish well 42 and control it completely,” he was quoted as saying by Al-Ghad Press.

“The national cadres proved their skills in dealing with the complex fires at the wells professionally and were able to extinguish the fire, relying on the available facilities,” he continued.

The Oil Minister said he valued “the efforts of all employees of the North Oil Company and the civil defense,” stressing the “keenness of the Ministry to speed up the rehabilitation and development of Ajil field and to develop the necessary plans for it.”

According to figures from the Oil Ministry in March, Ajil was producing approximately 5,000 to 17,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and up to 100 million cubic feet of gas daily following the first phase of repairs.

When IS overran large swaths of territory in northern and western Iraq in mid-2014, they controlled several oil fields, torching the Ajil field in 2015.

While the extremist group was able to control oilfields under the administration of the Iraqi government, Peshmerga forces effectively defended fields under the control of the Kurdistan Region.