China’s oil workers prepare for evacuation
Print Edition
CHINESE oil workers in Iraq are set to be relocated in response to growing violence in the country, the foreign ministry said yesterday.
Militants from the jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have captured vast amounts of Iraqi territory in a lightning offensive that is entering its second week, prompting major international concern.
China has more than 10,000 workers in Iraq, though most are in the south, far from the current fighting.
“For those workers in areas where the security situation is relatively grave we will do all we can to help them evacuate to safer areas,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying in Beijing.
The comments came after Chinese media reported that major Chinese oil firms have prepared evacuation plans in case the assault threatens their operations.
“If insurgents begin to attack Baghdad, we will pull out of the country immediately,” a worker at China National Offshore Oil Corp told the Global Times newspaper.
Iraq is China’s fifth-largest source of crude oil imports, while China is the largest foreign investor in Iraq’s oil sector.
PetroChina said production at its four Iraqi oilfields has not been affected. Though the fields are in the center or south of the country, the oil giant told Global Times that “some Chinese nationals in the north were evacuated.”
The instability in Iraq is set to push up oil prices, which is not good for China, as it is the world’s largest crude oil importer, consultancy IHS Energy Insight said.
Some Western embassies have withdrawn staff from Baghdad, and on Tuesday Turkey said it had evacuated its consulate in Basra.
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