08 August 2014 – London-listed Afren has suspended its operations at the Barda Rash field in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) territory of Iraq.
The company has taken a precautionary step in temporarily shutting down operations at the field in anticipation of heightened security issues.
Two supermajors are reportedly evacuating staff from the area as the radical militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) advance towards the capital.
Chevron confirmed it was pulling staff from the region, as militants pushed to within about 40 kilometres of the Kurdish regional capital Erbil.
There are also reports of ExxonMobil pulling staff out of the region.
Afren will withdraw all non-essential field staff from the field, while all other personnel from other field operations remain unchanged.
The company said it would follow operations and consult with its local security team. It said operations were expected to restart shortly.
According to the company, the change in operations would not have a significant impact on the company’s cashflow.
US President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he had authorised limited use of air power on advancing Islamic militants in northern Iraq to protect American personnel, but had no intention of getting dragged into war there.
*Bianca Bartucciotto – Upstreamonline