Expulsion of foreigners won’t affect oil supply from Iraq: Expert
An Iranian energy expert believes global oil prices would remain stable if the Americans and other Western staff operating production facilities in Iraq are expelled or decide to leave the country on their own.
Behrouz Namdari said on Tuesday that local staff would be capable of operating oil facilities in Iraq and that would ensure a smooth and continued supply of crude into the global markets.
The comments come as major American energy companies that have expatriates working in Iraq’s oil facilities are removing the staff from the country after the US government ordered the assassination of a senior Iranian military commander in Iraq last week.
Iraqi parliament has passed as resolution demanding the expulsion of all foreign troops operating in the country while the neighboring Iran has vowed it would avenge the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Quds military force who was killed along several military and militia fighters, including a number of Iraqis, in Baghdad on Friday.
That has sparked fears of an all-out war between Iran and the United States while some analysts say small-scale attacks on US military staff and other contractors would be possible.
Namdari rejected claims that any absence of Western contractors would affect crude supply from Iraq, currently the second major oil producer in the region after Saudi Arabia.
“If the production operation in the facilities is in the hand of the Iraqi staff, output of this country won’t be disrupted,” Namdari told ILNA agency, adding, “Supply would continue as long as no hot war breaks out.”
American energy giant Chevron Corp said on Monday that it had pulled expatriate staff from northern Iraq as a security precaution.
Other oil companies engaged in various projects in Iraq have removed dozens of workers from the Arab country since the weekend.
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