Gulf Keystone Petroleum cuts jobs in Iraqi Kurdistan
Gulf Keystone Petroleum project in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Photo: Gulf Keystone Petroleum
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Gulf Keystone Petroleum expressed doubts on Thursday about its ability to continue operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq after announcing it had cut 55 percent of the jobs it provided to expatriates to reduce costs amid the halt of oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan.
The company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and focuses its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, said it is studying the possibility of shedding more jobs after its business was significantly affected following the suspension of oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline last March, according to Reuters.
Last week, the Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, met in Ankara with the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, to discuss issues related to oil exports, but none of the officials announced that an agreement had been reached to resume oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The CEO of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, John Harris, mentioned in a statement that as long as no official timeline has been announced, the company continues to believe that the suspension of exports will be temporary and that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will resume oil sales payments in due course.
Turkey stopped Iraq’s exports of 450,000 barrels per day through the oil pipeline that extends from the Kurdistan region of Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on March 25.
The company also mentioned that it expects to have enough resources to continue operations over the next 12 months. The company added that it began selling oil locally and partially resumed production in July.