Iraq: Militants Hold Seven Iraq Oil Fields After Syria Blitz, IEA Says

Aug 14, 2014 | Bloomberg
View Original

Islamic State fighters have captured seven oil fields in Iraq with a total output capacity of 80,000 barrels a day, adding to energy deposits they seized earlier in neighboring Syria, the International Energy Agency said.

The insurgents, who swept into northern Iraq in June, grabbed the Ain Zalah and Batma fields in Nineveh province this month, the IEA said today in its monthly oil market report. They already controlled the Najma, Qayara, Himreen, Ajeel and Balad fields, the agency said. The potential flow of oil from deposits they hold in Iraq would fetch about $8.4 million a day on international markets, based on yesterday’s closing price for benchmark Brent crude of $104.68 a barrel.