Two wells in a small oilfield in northern Iraq were set ablaze by explosives in a “terrorist attack” on Wednesday, but overall production from the field was not affected, the country’s oil ministry said Wednesday.
Media outlets reported, citing security sources, that two bombs targeted oil wells in the Khabbaz oil fields, 20 kilometres southwest of Kirkuk, causing a fire in the area.
Deputy oil minister Karim Hattab said in a statement that efforts to contain the fire are underway. The field produces about 25,000 barrels per day, officials said.
Technical teams isolated the two burning oil wells and there was no impact on output, sources from the state-run North Oil Company said.
At the moment, no organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi media said that the Islamic State terror group was behind the bombing, citing local police sources.
A resurgent IS has intensified attacks on foreign targets and personnel this year. IS destroyed a number of energy facilities during the 2014-2017 war, some of which are still being rebuilt by the Iraqi government.
