Baghdad, June 24, (dpa/GNA) – One of Iraq’s key oil fields has been forced to suspend operations. The operator of the West Qurna-2 field in the southern province of Basra said on Wednesday, that crude oil production and storage activities had been completely halted, citing the ongoing force majeure situation in the region and a shortage of available oil tankers.
Force majeure is a legal provision, allowing companies to suspend contractual obligations, due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.
Production and crude exports from the onshore field, have reportedly been cut by 100% since Tuesday. Iraq had already reduced crude output in March, and declared force majeure because of the fallout from the war between Iran and the US, which began on February 28.
West Qurna-2 was among the facilities forced to scale back production significantly during the conflict, and had only recently begun ramping operations back up.
The field is now operated by an Iraqi company after Russian energy group Lukoil withdrew from the project as a result of US sanctions. With its vast reserves, West Qurna-2 is considered one of Iraq’s “super-giant” oil fields.
GNA