Exxon Mobil evacuates 50 U.S. staff from major Iraqi oil field
BASRA, IRAQ — Energy company Exxon Mobil is in the process of evacuating 50 U.S. employees from a major Iraqi oil field amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, sources in the Iraqi oil industry said Saturday.
The spat between Tehran and Washington has been gathering momentum since Iran’s announcement last week that it would begin a partial withdrawal from the nuclear deal that Washington pulled out of last year.
Exxon Mobil’s decision comes after the U.S. put its forces on high alert in Iraq and Syria and the U.S. aviation authority warned airlines to exercise caution in the region, and in the wake of alleged attacks on ships near the United Arab Emirates, which the U.S. has said were carried out by Iran or its allies.
The evacuation started early Saturday from the West Qurna 1 site in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, the sources added on condition of anonymity. The employees are being flown to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Operations at the field, run by Exxon Mobil, are continuing as normal with the help of Iraqi technicians, according to the sources.
There has been no comment from the U.S.-based company.
Other foreign companies providing logistical services in oil-rich Basra are also preparing to evacuate their employees against the backdrop of the U.S.-Iranian escalation, the sources said.
Bahrain, meanwhile, advised its citizens against traveling to Iraq and Iran, and called on those who are there to leave immediately.
The Gulf monarchy’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the advice was due to the “unstable situation in the region and the recent escalations and threats against security and stability.”
Bahrain is home to the U.S. 5th Fleet.
Gulf countries are traditional allies of the U.S.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have agreed to a U.S. request to redeploy U.S. troops on their territory and in Gulf waters in order to deter potential Iranian attacks, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al Awsat reported Saturday.
The report said the redeployment was not a sign war was imminent with Iran.
Iran is a regional rival of Saudi Arabia. Both powers are on opposite sides of the wars in Syria and Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has warned airlines operating in the Gulf to be cautious due to “heightened military activities and increased political tensions.”
U.S. carriers should be aware of “an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification,” the FAA warned in an advisory issued Thursday.
Last week, the US State Department ordered nonessential government staff at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq to leave.
The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria had been placed on high alert following “credible threats” from Iranian forces in the region.
The U.S. earlier said it had deployed an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, after Tehran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes connecting the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said two oil pipeline booster stations in the Riyadh province were targeted by explosive-laden drones, an attack claimed by Yemen’s Iran-linked Houthi rebels.
Riyadh blamed Iran and the Houthis for the attack.