Attack knocks Khor Mor field offline, threatening weeks of power cuts

Significant damage is likely to shut in gas production for weeks — a sharp reminder of the Iraqi government's failure to assert control over armed groups.

The Khor Mor gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan, in 2013. (JACOB RUSSELL/Metrography/Iraq Oil Report)

Energy

Oil production nears pre-war levels, but lost capacity slows full recovery

Iraq's nationwide output reached 4.22 million bpd in September, but some fields are struggling to rebound from damage caused by long shut-ins.

With a raid on a KDP-linked contractor, the PUK signals its willingness to leverage control of gas-rich territory to push back against the KDP's efforts to gain political advantage by reactivating the regional Parliament.

Security

Insurgency persists as U.S.-led coalition leaves Iraq

IS militants no longer hold territory but still probe for security gaps, while Iraqi officials give contrasting assessments of how the U.S. withdrawal will affect future capacity and stability.

Interviews

Q&A: Ali Shaddad al-Faris, member of the Parliament Oil and Gas Committee

The longtime Basra MP discusses the prospects for a national oil law, a revision to the refinery investment law, and a wave of oil sector corruption arrests.