Renewed drone threats put Iraq’s energy recovery at risk

BASRA/SULAIMANIYA - Security threats against Iraq's energy sector are again rising, as a drone crashed near an oil tanker at the al-Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT) on Thursday morning and the Khor Mor gas field shut down its main production facilities shortly after drone attacks in neighboring Erbil province.

Multiple oil officials in southern Iraq said export loadings were temporarily interrupted, while the cut in gas supplies feeding the Kurdistan region's power grid caused electricity generation to drop by 2,500 MW, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Electricity.