Dozens of U.S. oil workers prepare to leave Iraq after air strike

Dozens of U.S. oil workers prepare to leave Iraq after air strike
# 03 January 2020 16:55 (UTC +04:00)

Dozens of U.S. citizens working for foreign oil companies in the southern Iraqi oil city of Basra were preparing to leave the country on Friday, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said after a U.S. air strike killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq, APA reports citing Reuters.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart from Iraq immediately, hours after the U.S. killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in an air strike.

Iraqi officials said the evacuation would not affect operations, production or exports.

Company sources said earlier the workers were expected to fly out of the country.

Oil production from Iraq, the second biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, was about 4.62 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a Reuters survey of OPEC output.

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