BAGHDAD — BP, Eni and TotalEnergies have begun evacuating foreign personnel from Iraqi oilfields where they operate, state-run Basra Oil Company said on Monday.
Output from Iraq’s southern oilfields for the time being remains unchanged with exports averaging 3.32 million barrels per day, two oil officials told Reuters.
The measures follow US military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and clashes between Israel and Iran, which borders Iraq.
Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah had warned it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in Iran.
US oilfield services firm Baker Hughes is also taking temporary precautionary measures to shift staff out of the country, a spokesperson said, without elaborating.
“The companies operating in Basra Oil Company fields… have temporarily evacuated some foreign personnel, particularly BP, which operates in the Rumaila field,” Basra Oil said in a statement.
It added that the move would not affect production.
BP was not immediately available to comment.
Italy’s Eni, which has a technical service contract at Iraq’s Zubair oil and gas field, had reduced staff to 98 from 260, Basra Oil said, adding the workers that remained in the country were working normally with local employees.
