Iraq-Kurd clash cuts crude oil output at disputed Kirkuk fields

#oilwire - Crude output in Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk province tumbled when two fields halted production as government troops pushed back Kurdish forces in an Iraqi offensive to regain control in the disputed area. Iraq regained control of all oil fields and other energy facilities in Kirkuk, including Bai Hassan and Avana fields, the Oil Ministry said Tuesday in a statement. It called for cooperation to keep oil exports flowing from the northern part of the country. The Kurdish KAR Group had stopped pumping crude at Avana and Bai Hassan after technicians failed to report for work and security guards left amid the fighting, an official at the central government-run North Oil Co. said Monday, without specifying how much oil the fields were producing before the halt. While the KAR Group operates the fields, NOC staff work with the Kurds at both sites, the official said, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media. Phone calls to the KAR Group on Tuesday went unanswered.

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