Dana Gas Kurdish field operating 'normal' after third rocket attack: KRG spokesman

The Khor Mor natural gas field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is operating normally, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government said in a tweet on June 25 after confirming there was no material damage following the third rocket attack on the facility operated by the UAE's Dana Gas.

The field "in Chamchamal town in the Kurdistan region has been targeted by rockets today evening for the third time since Thursday. The attacks [have] not resulted in any casualties or material damages and the operation at the field is normal," Lawk Ghafuri, the head of foreign media relations at the KRG, said in the tweet.

A spokesman for /dana Gas said the company would issue a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange where its shares trade on June 27.

The attack is the latest escalation in the region impacting Kurdish energy assets.

On June 22, a small rocket fell near the field, slightly injuring two Dana Gas contractors, while a second missile attack occurred on June 24, hitting residential facilities operated by the company.

The strikes come amid ratcheting tensions between the KRG and the federal Iraqi government over Baghdad's attempt to take control of the Kurdish energy sector, which has operated independently since 2007.

The Iraqi oil ministry is attempting to implement a federal court ruling from Feb. 15 that ordered Kurdish officials to surrender all of the region's oil production to the central government.

The KRG has rejected the court ruling, and talks between the two sides have failed to achieve any compromise.

Dana Gas, the biggest gas producer in Kurdistan, is planning to increase Khor Mor's production capacity to 700 MMcf/d by the second quarter of 2023. The expansion project received a $250 loan from the US International Development Finance Corp. in 2021.

In April 2007, Dana Gas and its parent company Crescent Petroleum entered into an agreement with the KRG for exclusive rights to appraise, develop, produce, market and sell petroleum and gas from the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields. Other shareholders in what is called the Pearl consortium are OMV, MOL and RWE, with a 10% stake each.