Sulaymaniyah police confiscate oil drilling equipment

SULAYMANIYAH, January 28 — The Sulaymaniyah Forest and Environment Police Directorate reported seizing two illegal well drilling machines in separate locations within the Sulaymaniyah governorate.

Police confiscated a drilling machine Sunday in Halalawa village, Penjwen district, and another in Mahmudi village, Baziyan district.

Hemin Kamarkhan, directorate spokesperson, told 964media that confiscated drilling equipment is “sent to the groundwater management directorate for processing.”

Kamarkhan added that drilling activities usually decrease during the winter.

According to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Kurdistan Region obtained by 964media, more than 28,000 unauthorized wells had been drilled by the end of 2022, with over 20,000 in the Sulaymaniyah governorate.

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