BP evacuates foreign staff after Iraqi oilfield unrest

Flames rise from a gas flare at the Rumaila oil field, as the country cuts nearly 1.5 million barrels per day of output amid halted exports following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, in Basra, Iraq. Image credit: Reuters/Essam Al-Sudani

“We are taking all necessary steps to ⁠support our partners and ensure the safety ​of our people," a BP spokesperson told Reuters.

"We ​are continuously assessing the situation, have been communicating with those people under our duty of care and will ​address them directly should there be a need ​for any change."

Output affected

Two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters that ⁠the country had cut oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, adding that those cuts could widen to more than three million bpd ​within days ​as the ⁠country runs out of storage and cannot export crude due to the ​Iran war.

Iraq produced about four million ​bpd ⁠in January.

The ​officials said that output at Rumaila, which normally stands at around 1.4 million bpd, was reduced by 700,000 ⁠bpd.

South Africa faces fuel-price surge as global oil tensions rise

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Earlier this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the escalating conflict in West Asia was already putting strain on the African continent's supply chains and causing higher energy prices.

Oil and gas prices have surged following Israeli and US strikes on Iran and retaliation by Tehran that forced shutdowns of oil and gas facilities across the region and disrupted shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

South Africa has already started to feel the impact.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) announced a price increase of between 20c and 65c for all fuel.

Experts warn that things may get worse as the conflict escalates.