On Monday, Canadian oil company ShaMaran Petroleum announced that production and pipeline exports at the Atrush and Sarsang fields had been temporarily shut down due to the deterioration of the regional security environment.

On July 13, the company announced that Atrush was producing approximately 37,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), and Sarsang was producing approximately 7,000 bopd.

Read More: Gulf Keystone Temporarily Halts Production Due to Security Risk

Earlier, the U.S. energy company HKN, the UAE’s Dana Gas, and the UK-listed oil and gas firm Gulf Keystone temporarily stopped their production in the Kurdistan Region due to the security threat.

The Kurdistan Region recently has seen an increase in drone attacks from Iran amid rising tensions in the region, including U.S. strikes on southern Iran and Iranian strikes on Gulf countries and the Kurdistan Region.

Last Friday, the Kurdistan Regional Government called on Iran to stop the attacks, underlining the neutrality of the Kurdistan Region.

At an online event held by Chatham House on Tuesday, Bakr al-Samarrai, special advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi, said that Prime Minister al-Zaidi has taken proactive steps by deploying anti-drone systems to protect key sectors, including the oil and gas industry.

“These measures are being implemented alongside efforts to disarm armed factions and strengthen the enforcement of law and order.”