BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 1 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi government agreed with the U.S. Exxon Mobil oil company, to return its foreign staff to Iraq’s southern West Qurna 1 oilfield, an Iraqi oil official said, on Friday.
A statement by Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, director general of Basra Oil Company, said that, “after a meeting between the Iraqi Oil Minister, Thamir al-Ghadhban, and the administration of Exxon Mobil, the company will start the return of its staff to their offices in Basra, Sunday.”
The agreement between the two sides came, after the U.S. Exxon Mobil oil company, on May 17, evacuated all its foreign workers out of West Qurna 1 oilfield, in Iraq’s southern province of Basra.
The company’s staff were moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and some to the company’s main headquarters in Basra.
Later, al-Ghadhban said, the Exxon Mobil’s evacuation “is unacceptable and unjustified because other international companies are working freely and safely in developing the oilfields.”
However, the oil production of West Qurna 1 oilfield was not affected by the evacuation, as the work was continued by Iraqi engineers, according to reports.
The evacuation came, amid the tense situation in the region, after U.S. President, Donald Trump, decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran’s oil when they expired in May.
The United States has also increased its military activities in the region recently, citing a threat of Iranian “attack.”– NNN-NINA
