Oil production and exports from Iraq's southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra
Oil production and exports from Iraq's southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra, a Southern Oil Company official told Reuters on Wednesday.
"If the military operations continue for three more days, the oil workers will not be able to continue their work and this is going to definitely affect oil production and exports," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Street battles continued in Basra on Wednesday. Battles were raging in the Mahdi Army strongholds of Al Gaazaiza, Al Garma, Khmasamene, Al Hayania and Al Maqal neighbourhoods of Basra, witnesses said.
Residents said the streets of Basra were deserted on Wednesday even after a night-time curfew ended at 6am, and schools and most shops remained closed.
Oil workers in the Basra province work 24-hour shifts and have not been replaced since Tuesday, the oil company official said.
