ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - An explosion occurred on Tuesday at the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region, a block operated by US-based HKN Energy, a day after Erbil’s Khurmala field came under drone attacks.
"HKN Energy Ltd. confirms that an explosion occurred earlier today at approximately 7:00 AM local time at one of its production facilities in the Sarang field, located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” the company said in a statement.
The HKN Energy added: "All personnel have been safely accounted for, and no injuries have been reported. However, the facility remains on fire, and emergency response teams are actively working to contain the situation.”
The US-based company has launched an investigation into the incident.
"HKN Energy has initiated a full assessment of the damage and is coordinating closely with local authorities and relevant stakeholders to manage the response and ensure the safety of surrounding communities,” it said, adding the incident has caused the suspension of operatoins at the affected facility "until the site is secured and a full evaluation is completed.
The Sarsang field explosion comes as a series of aerial attacks by unidentified actors have targeted the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk since late June, coming days after the declaration of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
On Monday evening, two drones targeted Khurmala field, and a suicide drone was shot down over Erbil International Airport in the early hours of the same day, with prior attacks having targeted airports in Erbil and Kirkuk
On two separate occasions, drones were intercepted in the vicinity of the Peshmerga's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-affiliated Unit 70 headquarters in Sulaimani earlier this week.
No side has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The attacks have sparked tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decrying the federal authorities’ silence amid the ongoing strikes.
In a statement last week, the KRG’s interior ministry denied reports by Iran-affiliated media claiming that an alleged Israeli base in Erbil was the target of one of the attacks, calling them “far from the truth,” and accusing the groups affiliated with the Iraqi state-linked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of being behind the recent aerial attacks.
Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, responded to the KRG statement, saying that any accusation “against an official Iraqi security institution is impermissible, condemned, and unacceptable under any pretext.”
Since 2022, Iran and its proxies have carried out several attacks on the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting bases of Israeli intelligence (Mossad). Erbil has repeatedly denied the presence of Israeli bases in the Region.
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