Oil majors including Exxon-Mobil and BP have started evacuating staff from Iraq as Sunni militants battle for control of the north’s main refinery and clashes continue to rage across the country.
Exxon has pulled expatriate staff out of its West Qurna 1 field in the south, according to people close to the company. BP said it had taken non-essential employees out of the giant Rumaila field it runs nearby.
Hans Nijkamp, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell in Iraq, said the company had a plan in place to remove staff from the country if the situation deteriorated, although it has not evacuated any employees so far. Other oil majors have similar contingency plans in place.