Amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Italian energy major Eni has reduced the number of staff at the Zubair oil and gas field in Iraq as a precautionary measure, an Eni spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.
The Israel-Iran conflict that began earlier this month took a major turn this weekend after the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites – at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – and warned the Islamic Republic that retaliation against U.S. troops in the region or any other retaliation would be the worst mistake it will make.
Iran on Monday retaliated against the U.S. strikes, claiming the American attacks expand the scope for the Iranian military to respond.
The Iranian army’s chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, said the U.S. strikes have opened up the possibility of his forces taking “any action” against American troops and that Iran “will never back down”.
Foreign personnel working with oil companies in Iraq had already left the country before the U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear sites.
Supply from the Middle East could become vulnerable if Iran and Israel decide to attack vital energy infrastructure in the region, analysts at RBC Capital Markets noted earlier this month, warning that energy, and oil in particular, are now “clearly in the crosshairs.”
Iran’s Kharg Island—a major crude terminal and trade hub handling 90% of Iranian crude oil exports, could be targeted by Israel at some point, RBC says. Iranian proxies, for their part, could target oil facilities in neighboring Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, according to the bank.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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