Baghdad to cover Kurdistan Region’s cooking gas until Khor Mor restarts

ERBIL — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Monday ordered the federal Oil Ministry to supply the Kurdistan Region’s household gas until the attack-hit Khor Mor gas field resumes production, the Kurdistan Regional Government said.

Zaidi acted on a request from the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources and directed the Oil Ministry to provide the liquefied petroleum gas that residents of the Region need, the ministry said in a statement. Liquefied petroleum gas is the household gas used for cooking and heating.

The ministry said it was making every effort to ensure there would be no problems or shortages of household gas until Khor Mor’s production returns to normal. It did not say how much gas the Oil Ministry would send or when deliveries would begin.

A suspected drone attack late Sunday on the field, in the Qadir Karam subdistrict of Sulaymaniyah governorate’s Chamchamal district, caused a large explosion and halted gas production. Grid power in parts of the Kurdistan Region was cut for several hours.

The attack hit the field’s loading depot for liquefied petroleum gas, which loads 1,500 metric tons a day, field sources told 964media. It also stopped the gas that feeds the Region’s power stations, knocking nearly 3,000 megawatts off the grid, and Zaidi ordered a joint investigation with authorities in the Region. No group has claimed responsibility.

Dana Gas, the field’s UAE-based operator, kept production suspended on Monday to assess the damage, and the power loss had eased to about 1,000 megawatts.

Local officials have sought to calm residents who queued for gas after the attack. Sulaymaniyah’s district administration said its household gas stocks would last more than a month, and Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw said there was no problem with supplies.

Baghdad made a similar arrangement in July, when Dana Gas shut Khor Mor over security threats and the federal Oil Ministry agreed to meet the Region’s daily demand for household gas, sending tankers to cities across the Region.

Khor Mor has been hit by repeated rocket and drone attacks. Its operators, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, say it fuels more than 80% of the Region’s electricity generation.