The direct supply hit is regional. Khor Mor’s gas feeds Kurdistan’s power plants rather than export markets, so crude and LNG balances are largely untouched. The bigger signal for oil is that energy infrastructure in the region is still being targeted while diplomacy is supposedly picking up. That supports the war-risk premium in crude and undercuts the de-escalation tone in Trump’s latest remarks. Traders will be watching for any confirmed Iranian link, or a US response, that could revive escalation risk around Gulf supply routes.
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Earlier:
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Hours after Trump said renewed US strikes on Iran were unlikely, a suspected Iranian drone knocked out most of Kurdistan’s power supply, a reminder that the region’s energy infrastructure remains a live target whatever the diplomatic mood.
Summary:
- A drone strike on Sunday evening hit a gas storage facility at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field, halting production.
- The Kurdistan region lost nearly 2.8 gigawatts of generation, roughly two thirds of its normal power supply.
- No group has claimed responsibility. Iran or its allied Iraqi militias are suspected.
- The attack came hours after Trump said renewed US military action against Iran was highly unlikely if talks progress.
- The field supplies regional power generation rather than exports, so the direct global supply impact is limited.
- Washington is separately pressing Iraq to close all but two border crossings with Iran.
A suspected Iranian drone strike has halted production at Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdistan region. It knocked out nearly 2.8 gigawatts of power generation in what appears to be a significant escalation in the regional fallout from the Iran war.
Two security sources told Reuters that a drone targeted the field on Sunday evening, with smoke seen rising from the site in Chamchamal, Sulaymaniyah province. An engineer at the field said a gas storage facility was hit, and all crew were ordered into shelters for fear of further attacks.
The Kurdistan region’s electricity ministry said nearly 2.8 gigawatts of generating capacity was lost from the grid. With the region normally producing around 4 gigawatts, that implies roughly two thirds of its power supply was taken offline, leaving households and businesses facing outages.
No group has claimed responsibility. Suspicion has fallen on Iran or its allied militias in Iraq, which have carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on the Kurdistan region since the war began. Kurdish authorities have long blamed Iran-backed armed groups for strikes on Khor Mor. The field has been hit many times in recent years, including an attack in November last year that also halted production.
The timing stands out. The strike came only hours after US President Donald Trump said renewed US military action against Iran was highly unlikely as long as talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz made progress. If Iranian involvement is confirmed, the attack would suggest that Tehran or its proxies are still prepared to hit regional energy infrastructure even as diplomatic contacts pick up.
Khor Mor is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a consortium that includes UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum. Its gas feeds power plants in the Kurdistan region rather than export markets, so the direct effect on global supply is limited.
Pressure on Iraq is also building from Washington. Iraq’s foreign minister said the US Treasury has asked Baghdad to close all but two of its border crossings with Iran, as part of a wider push to tighten economic pressure on Tehran.
Attention now turns to how quickly production can be restored, whether responsibility is formally assigned, and how Washington responds to an attack that cuts across its message of restraint.
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In other news, this is expected to have an impact on tech:
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.