Protest disrupts Halfaya operations and local power supply
Financial constraints and OPEC cuts led to oil sector layoffs and protests that briefly shut down access to Missan province's largest field.
Workers survey the Halfaya oil field in 2011. It is being developed by China’s CNPC, with junior partners Petronas of Malaysia and Total of France. (ESSAM AL-SUDANI/AFP/Getty Images)
AMARA - A protest at the Halfaya oil field trapped up to 900 foreign and Iraqi staff inside the site, preventing the delivery of food and water and cutting the flow of gas feedstock to a nearby power plant.
Oil officials, protesters, and security forces appeared to negotiate a temporary resolution on Sunday, but the incident highlighted the destabilizing ripple effects of Iraq's financial crisis. Cash shortages have caused the Oil Ministry to ask oil field operators to trim costs and accept payment delays, indirectly reducing the demand for local workers and sparking demonstrations at oil sites.
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