From July 14-16, 2025, oil fields on the borders of Erbil and Duhok provinces were targeted by bombing drones. Until now, drone attacks on various borders of these two provinces continue, and the number is increasing day by day, despite condemnations from America, Iraq, and demands from the Kurdistan Region to stop the attacks.
Currently, two-thirds of oil production in the Kurdistan Region has been halted, and companies and the Ministry of Natural Resources indicate massive damage to oil production infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region. This has had a direct impact on the market, with each ton of oil products (as of 17-07-2025) becoming approximately 30-40 dollars more expensive. If the current situation continues, prices will rise even higher.
Furthermore, total oil production in the Kurdistan Region has declined to 101,680 barrels per day, which is the lowest level of oil production in Kurdistan Region oil fields since the second quarter of 2015.
Before the drones, oil production from 12 oil and gas fields in the Kurdistan Region was 328,000 barrels, including 15,819 barrels of Khor Mor condensate gas. Currently, oil production excluding gas has reached 101,680 barrels.
Graphic One: Total Oil Production Before and After Drones in 2025
Source: Report of Kurdistan Region International Oil Companies IOC, July 17, 2025
These attacks have a very significant impact on the oil and gas sector in the Kurdistan Region, as these attacks come at a time when, since March 2023, all development and new investments by international oil companies in the Kurdistan Region have stopped. Now these attacks have targeted the existing infrastructure of companies and caused reduced production and zero operations by international companies on the borders of Erbil and Duhok. According to developments in the future, if Khurmala oil field facilities are targeted by drones, production levels will certainly reach near zero throughout the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The motives behind these attacks are complex and varied. Primarily, they have targeted the oil industry infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region, demonstrating the high technical capability of the attackers and their ability to strike anywhere and anytime regardless of consequences.
Another point is that oil and gas fields in the Kurdistan Region still lack adequate protection systems, which is why the impact of these attacks has caused major economic consequences and significant damage to this industry's infrastructure. Even the Shaikan oil field, operated by the British company Gulf Keystone, decided to halt oil production due to security risks, though it has not yet been targeted.
In fact, the 70% reduction in oil production not only harms oil companies and Kurdistan Region revenues from this sector, but also has direct impacts on oil refineries and prices of oil products, especially gasoline, in the coming days if a solution is not found quickly.
Currently, except for Khurmala and Sarqala oil fields, oil production has been halted in all other oil fields in the Kurdistan Region, and it is unclear when companies will resume oil production, as shown in the graph below.
Graphic Two: Oil Production Before and After Drones in 2025 by Field
