Turmoil in Basra oil sector after violent religious controversy
After alleged offenses against Shiite religious observances, two separate mob attacks at the Rumaila field left a British contractor hospitalized and forced Baker Hughes and Schlumberger to shut down operations.
Flares burn at the Rumaila oil field. (REUTERS/Atef Hassan)
BASRA - Two international oil services companies have suspended operations in southern Iraq following two different altercations between western contractors and Iraqi workers at the Rumaila oil field.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued stern warnings to both oil sector contractors and Iraqi workers, who came into conflict when foreigners working for Baker Hughes and security officers working for Schlumberger allegedly tore down posters and iconography of Imam Hussein, an act considered inexcusably blasphemous by Shiite Muslims.
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