The KRG oil sector is in the crosshairs of Iraq's Parliament and Turkey's president, who are seeking to stop the momentum of Kurdish secession after Monday's referendum.
Despite a lack of close coordination with Peshmerga, federal security forces started an offensive to retake the IS group's last major stronghold in northern Iraq.
Iraqi forces are advancing toward Ana, Rawa and al-Qaim – an operation that promises to clear the last major IS strongholds in Anbar province and reclaim the Akkas gas field.
In the northern Iraqi town of Mandali, controversy over Kurdistan's planned independence vote unleashed unruly protests and rogue paramilitaries.
Long-standing disputes over Kirkuk and its oil threaten to turn allies against each other as they prepare to chase IS from one of its last strongholds in Iraq.
PKK abducts four Turkish agents in Sulaimaniya who were allegedly targeting the group's leader, elevating tensions ahead of the KRG's controversial independence referendum.
Production is unaffected, and the police chief says local residents are reacting to belief that oil operations are responsible for recent earthquakes.
Kirkuk pipeline exports were briefly offline after IS militants bombed high-voltage power lines – one of a dozen insurgent attacks to hit northern Iraq in the past week.
IS militants are still stealing oil from wellheads in the mountains of Salahaddin province - in the process, unleashing a flood of oil that flows for miles.
Despite losing Mosul, IS militants continue a steady stream of guerilla-style operations throughout northern Iraq, targeting oil infrastructure, local leaders, and rural villages.
