US company evacuates foreign workers from Iraqi oil field

Baghdad  :   The US Exxon Mobil oil company has evacuated all its foreign workers from West Qurna 1 oil field in Iraq's Basra province, the media reported on Saturday.

The company started the evacuation on Friday and continued until early Saturday. Some of its staff were moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and some to the company's main headquarters in Basra, Al-Arabiyah television reported.

The oil production of West Qurna 1 oil field was not affected by the evacuation as the work was continued by the Iraqi engineers, the report said.

"There was no indication of threats and the situation was stable," according to an official from Iraq's Basra Oil Company.

The evacuation came amid the tension in the region after US President Donald Trump decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expired in early May, in a bid to pile up pressure on Tehran.

The US has also increased its military activities in the region recently, citing a threat of Iranian attack.