The latest:
Production stopped at the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq’s Kurdistan region after a drone attack hit the site, two security sources said, with smoke seen rising from the facility. An engineer working there said the strike damaged a gas storage unit and that all staff were ordered to take shelter against the possibility of further attacks. Power went out in scattered parts of the region.
Details:
- The target: The field sits in Qadir Karam, in Chamchamal district of Sulaymaniyah province, and is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a venture that includes the UAE’s Dana Gas and partners. A source at the site told Rudaw the strike hit the loading section specifically, which is what brought production to a stop.
- The power loss: Kurdistan’s electricity ministry said roughly 2,800 megawatts dropped off the system. Ministry spokesman Omed Ahmed told the Iraqi News Agency that gas exports to power plants in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Bazian, Chamchamal and Duhok were suspended, putting losses at 2,500 to 2,800 megawatts.
- The stopgap: Ahmed said the ministry would keep power flowing to sensitive sites such as hospitals and water stations by running the hydroelectric plants at the Dukan and Darbandikhan dams, plus stations able to use alternative fuels. A return to normal depends entirely on gas pumping resuming from Khor Mor.
- Baghdad’s response: Prime Minister and armed forces commander-in-chief Ali Falih al-Zaidi ordered a joint investigation committee formed with the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan region to determine the circumstances of the attack, according to a statement from the security media cell in his office.
- Casualties: The security media cell said preliminary information indicates no human losses. The statement did not identify who carried out the attack or quantify the material damage, and no party has been named officially.
- The energy stakes: Khor Mor is among the most prominent gas-producing fields in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, and the main source of natural gas for the power stations in Erbil, Chamchamal and Bazian that generate the bulk of the region’s electricity supply.
- Recent history: The field has been hit repeatedly by rockets and drones. The most recent previous attack, on 26 November 2025, started a fire and cut gas supplies to power stations, causing a sharp drop in electricity output across the region.
- Earlier findings: In December 2025, Baghdad announced results of a joint investigation into that attack, with six recommendations to strengthen security: among them improved intelligence coordination between Baghdad and Erbil, air defence systems for the facility, and tighter rules on drone use. The perpetrators were not identified.
- The 2024 attack: In April 2024, a drone strike on Khor Mor killed four foreign workers and wounded others, temporarily halting production and hitting electricity supplies across the Kurdistan region.
Background:
The Kurdistan gas project began in 2007, when Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum signed a contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government to develop Khor Mor. Production started in October 2008, 15 months after the project launched.
Between the lines:
The December 2025 recommendations, including air defences for the facility and tighter drone rules, were drawn up precisely to prevent a repeat of the November strike. A drone again reaching the field’s loading section and halting production suggests those measures have not yet closed the gap, and the pattern of unattributed attacks since April 2024 remains unbroken.
What’s next
Watch for the joint Baghdad-Erbil committee’s findings, any claim of responsibility, and the resumption of gas pumping to the Erbil, Bazian and Chamchamal plants, which the electricity ministry says is the condition for restoring normal supply.
