Rocket attack targets Khor Mor gas field after Kurdish visit to Baghdad

A rocket attack targeted the Khor Mor field run by Dana Gas July 25 evening in the Kurdistan Region's district of Chamchamal, Sulaimaniyah, two days after a rare visit by Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss oil and gas disputes with Baghdad.

Sadiq Mohammed, director of Qadir Karam district, told the Kurdish news outlet Kurdistan 24 that the field was targeted by three Katyusha rockets, without causing any casualties.

Ahmed Mufti, Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, natural resources deputy minister, told the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw that investigations into the incident have begun.

The Kurdistan Region has been increasingly rocked by strikes on oil and gas infrastructure by armed groups amid a dispute between Erbil and Baghdad after Iraq's federal court ruled Feb. 15 that the 2007 oil and gas law in the Kurdistan region was unconstitutional.

The KRG has rejected February's court ruling and said it continued to be open to dialogue.

The gas field was also targeted three times within a week in June.

Until now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Kurdistan Region's energy infrastructure, but experts have blamed Iranian-backed groups for the attacks.

Iran is reportedly opposed to the regional government's plans to export natural gas to Europe if a gas pipeline connection to Turkey can be built. Although this would need significant investment.

Kurdistan aims to become a net exporter of gas to the rest of Iraq, as well as Turkey and Europe, its Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said late March.

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