Exxon to return foreign staff to Iraq after security guarantees

Nearly two weeks after an evacuation that that was described as a precautionary measure, foreign employees of oil giant Exxon Mobil will return to Iraq’s southern West Qurna 1 oilfield starting Sunday, senior Iraqi officials said on Friday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Nearly two weeks after an evacuation that that was described as a precautionary measure, foreign employees of oil giant Exxon Mobil will return to Iraq’s southern West Qurna 1 oilfield starting Sunday, senior Iraqi officials said on Friday.

The move came after the Iraqi government agreed to Exxon’s request to add additional security at the employees' work and residential areas, the officials told Reuters, adding that senior managers and essential engineers would be among the first batch of staff members to return. 

Related Article: Exxon Mobil evacuates entire foreign staff from key Iraqi oilfield: Official

The evacuations followed an order by the US State Department for the departure of non-emergency US government employees from its embassy in Baghdad and consulate-general in Erbil, as well as the suspension of normal visa services. 

Tensions between the US and Iran have been mounting since Trump re-imposed sanctions on Tehran last year. In recent weeks, Washington announced it was dispatching an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region in response to intelligence that Tehran was planning an attack against US targets or allies. 

Following the oil company’s staff withdrawal, Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban claimed the decision had nothing to do with security or threats but was motivated by “political reasons,” and labeled it “unacceptable and unjustified.” 

Related Article: Iraqi Oil Minister says evacuation of Exxon Mobil ‘political’, not security related

Officials from Iraq’s state-owned South Oil Company earlier stated that output at the oilfield remained unaffected by the evacuations, with the normal amount of 440,000 barrels per day (bpd) being ably extracted by Iraqi staff.

Iraq has one of the world’s largest oil reserves and is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 

On May 7, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced that his country was close to signing a $53 billion, 30-year energy agreement with Exxon Mobil and PetroChina which could generate $400 billion. 

Editing by John J. Catherine