BAGHDAD — Foreign oil companies operating in Iraq have tightened security procedures at the sites they manage as a precaution following a Nov. 1 attack on the Ahdab oil field, 180 kilometers [50 miles] southeast of Baghdad in Wasit province. Unidentified gunman stormed the site, west of Kut, and made off with money, weapons and equipment.The Oil Ministry has reassured the companies that the incident involved theft and nothing more.

The Ahdab field was developed and operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) under a technical services contract with the Iraqi government. Operations began there in 2011.

Simon Daman Willems, managing director of Shell Iraq Petroleum, told Al-Monitor, "Iraq is still experiencing security tensions. We believe that the Iraqi government is serious about fighting armed groups that are trying to affect the Iraqi economy through its oil exports." He also acknowledged, "Oil companies are certainly reassessing their calculations with respect to the targeting of work sites in Iraq, which is still witnessing security breaches in all sectors."

Willems said his company is continuing to develop and administer the Majnoon field, one of four huge fields in Basra province, to reach the highest production possible. Iraq is counting on the big fields in the south to double its oil production, which currently stands at around 3 million barrels per day.