Page 6 - MEOG Week 01

MEOG Commentary MEOG
American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region”.
“This strike was aimed at deterring future Ira- nianattackplans,”itadded,butgavenodetailsof the aforementioned plans.
Soleimani and officials from Iran-backed militias were leaving Baghdad airport in two cars when they were hit by a US drone strike near a cargo area. The commander had reportedly flown in from Lebanon or Syria. Several missiles struck the convoy and at least seven people are believed to have died.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Iraqi mili- tia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was among those killed.
Muhandis commanded the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group, which Washington blamed for a rocket attack which killed a US civilian contractor in northern Iraq last Friday. He also effectively led the Popular Mobilisa- tion units (PM), an umbrella of militias in Iraq dominated by groups aligned with Iran. Most of those killed in the strike belonged to the PM, the organisation said. Soleimani’s son-in-law and a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah were also among the dead.
oil workers depart
As a result of the rising tension, advice from the US government and the threat of Iranian retal- iation, oil workers from the United States have been leaving Iraq.
The Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement on Friday that “a number” of Americans working in southern Iraq were leaving the country. Iraqi officials have said the evacuation of workers would not affect its oil operations, production or exports from the country, which is the sec- ond largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Reuters.
Dozens of workers were expected to fly out of the country; some were reportedly flying to Dubai and others appeared ready to fly to Qatar. Other foreign workers were not departing and oilfields across the country were operating nor- mally, the Iraqi oil ministry said.
ExxonMobil, a major US oil company, has operations in southern Iraq. BP and
Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell also work in the region. In a statement, Exxon said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and that it “has programmes and measures in place to provide security to protect its people, operations and facilities.” “We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and contractors at all of our facilities around the world,” the company added. It declined to comment on staffing at its facilities in Iraq.
BP would not comment on staff movements or whether it was ramping up security measures at its facilities. Shell, which owns a stake in the Basrah Gas Co., declined to comment.
Exxon is the lead contractor in a project to redevelop the West Qurna I oilfield in southern Iraq. Indonesian, Chinese and Iraqi compa- nies are also involved in the project, according to Exxon’s website. Exxon said in its statement that production at West Qurna I was continuing normally. Exxon also has a presence in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, according to its website. BP has operations in the giant Rumaila oilfield in southern Iraq, in partnership with Chinese and Iraqi companies. BP estimates that the field has around 17bn barrels of recoverable oil.
Barham Salih, the president of Iraq, has called for restraint following the attack, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed “harsh revenge.”
Oil prices moved higher last Friday as inves- tors reacted to the risk that the death of Soleim- ani could prompt retaliation by Iran, including attacks on US assets in the region. Iraqi oil pro- duction has recovered strongly in recent years, hitting 4.7mn barrels per day (bpd) in late 2019, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
What next?
It is very unclear what will happen next, but it seems most likely that a strong response from Iran will follow – either in the short term or possibly once the attention is focused elsewhere; that begs the question of what President Trump’s response will then be. The future canvas is very hard to decipher and is a significant worry for the prospects of peace.™
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 01 08•January•2019