Drones and deadlock stymie Iraqi Kurdish oil and gas ambitions
Not for the first time, a foreign oil company-led project in Iraq’s Kurdistan region is dealing with the aftermath of a deadly drone attack
The 26 April drone strike on a condensate storage tank at the Khor Mor gas field, operated by the Pearl Petroleum consortium, killed four Yemeni contractors and forced a week-long outage of the 500mcf/d production. Although the UAE’s Dana Gas—which leads the consortium alongside Sharjah-headquartered Crescent Petroleum, Austria’s OMV, Germany’s RWEST and Hungary’s MOL Group—said production was back to normal levels by 3 May, the company acknowledged the incident may impact the completion schedule of a plan to boost production to 750mcf/d. It is also a blow to investor confidence, hitting one of the few successful gas developments in Iraq, responsible for generating more than 2,000MW of elect
Also in this section
22 January 2026
New long-term deal is latest addition to country’s rapidly evolving supply portfolio as it eyes role as regional gas hub
21 January 2026
Petroleum Economist takes a look at the critical developments that look set to govern the course of the market for this year
20 January 2026
The ripple effects of US refiners switching to Venezuela grades will be felt from Canada to China and everywhere in between
20 January 2026
As the global energy system undergoes its most profound transformation in a century, the need for credible leadership, practical solutions and inclusive dialogue has never been greater. In 2026, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will stand at the centre of this conversation as host of the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh.
