Several international oil companies operating in southern Iraq have evacuated their foreign employees amid fears of an expansion of the war between Israel and neighbouring Iran, sources told The National on Monday.
The sources, some of whom are employees of the companies, added that workers started to leave straight after the first Israeli attack on June 13, but that they almost all left in recent days. They added that they left through Basra International Airport, the only airport operating in Iraq now, or by land to Kuwait.
The state-run Basra Oil Company (BOC) confirmed that "some" foreign staff had left the country, including employees of UK's BP, Italy's ENI and France's Total energy, but said operations in Iraq's southern oilfields had not been affected.
"Iraqi personnel carry out the operations and monitoring operations completely in co-operation with the remote operator," BOC said in a statement. Iraq exports an average of 3.32 million barrels per day.
The measures come as the world awaits Tehran's response to the US attack on nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic at the weekend.
The US embassy in Qatar on Monday sent an email to American citizens in the country recommending they shelter in place until further notice. The message said the recommendation was "out of an abundance of caution" and offered no further information. Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the security situation in the country was stable and that the embassy advisory did not indicate the presence of any specific threat.
Bahrain told government employees whose presence in the workplace was not essential to work from home following the US attacks, before ordering a full return to the office from Tuesday.
In Iraq, the Iran-aligned armed group Kataib Hezbollah had warned it would resume attacks on American troops in the region if the US intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Iraq is eager not to be drawn into the conflict and its government has asked the US and Iran not to turn the country into a battleground.
However, there are fears Iran-backed militias in Iraq will spring into action now that the US has entered the war. Sources close to the Iraqi government said last week some of the most prominent militant groups have made it known that any US military intervention would trigger a response.
The US, meanwhile, is keeping its embassy running in Iraq even as it enters the worsening air war nearby in Iran. Some American staff left Iraq last weekend, an embassy representative said, as part of an "orderly departure" that began 10 days ago, shortly before Israel attacked Iran.
However, the US embassy in Baghdad and the consulate general in Erbil "remain open and operating", the official said. They said the US State Department "continues to closely monitor the security situation across Iraq".
