UAE gas company field in Iraqi Kurdistan hit by rocket

A rocket hit a major gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday, an Emirati company developing the site has said.

The Khor Mor gas field in the southwest of Sulaimaniyah province is being developed by the UAE's Dana Gas company and produces natural gas for almost 80 percent of the Kurdistan region's power plants.  

Dana Gas said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are listed, that operations were not interrupted by the "small rocket" fire and the strikes did not cause major damage.

"No damage occurred and production operations continued normally without interruption," the company said.

Security experts said the rocket, a Katyusha, was launched from territory whose control is disputed between the Iraqi federal and Kurdish regional governments, local official Sadiq Mohammed told The New Arab.

An investigation into the incident is underway, Mohammed said.

No party has yet claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.

Oil and gas facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan have been targeted with rocket fire before.

In April, several Katyusha rockets landed near an oil refinery in the Khabat district of Erbil. Kurdish authorities blamed Iran-backed militias for the rocket fire.

The incident prompted international oil companies working in the region to increase safety precautions.

High-level foreign staff are now using armoured vehicles for transportation, a source close to foreign oil companies told The New Arab on condition of anonymity.

"A key oil company working in the Garmiyan area of the Kurdistan region has identified 15 July as the deadline for its foreign experts to leave Iraq," the source said.

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum entered into an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007 and established the Kurdistan Gas Project for exclusive rights to appraise, develop, produce, market, and sell hydrocarbons from the Khor Mor and Chamchamal fields.