Kurdish oil export halted after powerful earthquake hits Turkey

“Following the completion of the inspection work, the export will resume,” the ministry added.

Kurdistan 24 2023/02/06 14:24

An engineer walks in the grounds of the Khurmala oilfield, 10Km south of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region, July 18, 2009. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

Kurdistan Turkey Earthquake Krg OIl Ceyhan port

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region’s oil which goes through Turkey’s Ceyhan port has been halted after a devastating earthquake struck the country, the Kurdish region’s oil ministry announced.

More than 900 have died since the first earthquake in Turkey that also hit northern Syria on early Monday, according to the latest figures by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a press conference. More than 5,000 people have been wounded, he added.

Oil exports have been halted early Monday to “ensure the safety of oil export and thwart any undesired situation,” the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement on Monday.

“Following the completion of the inspection work, the export will resume,” the ministry added.

Another 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey on Monday afternoon, whose aftershocks were felt in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region and a number of other Middle Eastern countries.

Over 2,800 buildings have collapsed in Turkey as a result of the earthquake, President Erdogan said, adding rescue teams have so far rescued more than 2,000 people.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and offered assistance to the rescue mission.