Drone Strike Halts Iraqi Kurdistan's Khor Mor Gas Field, Knocking Out Regional Grid

A suspected drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field late Sunday night severed fuel supplies to power stations across Iraqi Kurdistan, knocking up to 2,800 megawatts of electricity generation offline. The strike hit the facility's liquefied petroleum gas storage unit at approximately 11:10 p.m. local time, triggering a massive fire and forcing an immediate halt to all production operations.[1][6]

The sudden loss of gas feedstocks plunged five major urban centers—Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, Bazian, Chamchamal, and Duhok—into widespread blackouts. The Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Electricity confirmed that the outage removed between 2,500 and 2,800 megawatts of capacity, representing 70 to 80 percent of the region's operational power grid.[1][6]

To prevent a total collapse of the electrical network, authorities initiated emergency load-shedding protocols. Ministry spokesperson Omed Ahmed stated that hydroelectric stations at the Dokan and Darbandikhan dams, along with alternative-fuel plants, were activated to maintain baseload power for critical sites such as hospitals and municipal water treatment facilities.[1][5]

"To prevent a complete blackout, the Ministry of Electricity is working... to provide electricity to sensitive and important sites," Ahmed said in a statement. Until gas deliveries resume, national electricity supplies are expected to decline by five to six hours per day, with the distribution of available power adjusted across provinces based on emergency priorities.[5][6]

Assessing structural damage

UAE-based Dana Gas, which operates the field as part of the Pearl Petroleum consortium alongside Crescent Petroleum, confirmed the attack in a regulatory filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Monday. The company reported that the fire had been successfully extinguished and that all personnel had evacuated to designated shelters without injury.[1][6]

Production remains entirely suspended while technical teams assess the structural damage to the facility's "Old Field" section, which handles daily LPG output. Dana Gas did not provide a timeline for restarting operations, noting that it is coordinating closely with both regional and federal authorities to secure the site and evaluate the integrity of the processing equipment.[1][6]

The alarm sounded just before the impact, allowing the 172 tanker drivers and facility workers to move into protected underground areas. A source at the field confirmed that the strike targeted a gas production section known as Ka1, which stores nearly 1,500 metric tons of cooking gas, causing substantial material damage to the loading infrastructure.[4][6]

Khor Mor is the Kurdistan Region's largest supplier of natural gas, producing roughly 750 million cubic feet per day following a recent expansion. The field has supplied the regional electricity network since October 2008, with gas traveling by pipeline directly to generating facilities, making it a critical vulnerability in the local energy architecture.[6]

A history of targeted strikes

The strike marks the latest in a series of assaults on the vital energy hub. Khor Mor has been repeatedly targeted by rocket and drone fire in recent years, including a November 2025 attack that similarly crippled the region's power grid by cutting 2,600 megawatts of generation and sparking a massive fire in a main storage tank.[1][6]

In July 2026, Dana Gas temporarily shut down the field's main production facilities, citing credible security threats and regional tension, before restarting production later that month. Earlier, an April 2024 drone strike at the site killed four Yemeni workers, prompting urgent appeals from Erbil for Baghdad to deploy dedicated air defense systems around the facility.[4][7]

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The Kurdistan Region has faced more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks since February 2026, coinciding with broader regional conflicts and the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran. Local authorities have frequently blamed Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups for seeking to destabilize the region's gas sector and exert economic pressure on the autonomous government.[1][4]

The attacks occur amid ongoing political tensions between the Kurdistan Region's two main parties and a growing confrontation between Baghdad and Iran-backed militias over weapons and economic influence. Iraq has been striving to balance its ties with neighboring Iran and the United States amid the military escalation, complicating efforts to secure domestic infrastructure.[7]

Joint federal investigation

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ordered the formation of a joint investigative committee between federal forces and Kurdistan Region authorities. The committee officially began field operations on Monday to determine the drone's launch site and identify the perpetrators behind the assault.[3][6]

Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the Iraqi commander-in-chief, confirmed that the committee is conducting a detailed investigation in full coordination with regional security agencies. The findings and recommendations will be submitted to relevant authorities upon completion to facilitate necessary legal and security measures against the responsible factions.[6]

While no group has formally claimed responsibility, Iraqi military and intelligence sources indicated the drone appeared to approach from the direction of Tuz Khurmatu, a district in Salah al-Din province. Security personnel guarding the Khor Mor facility reported hearing the drone approach from that southern trajectory, an area known for militia activity.[6]

The incident drew swift international condemnation. US Presidential Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack described the strike as an "attack on the Iraqi people" and pledged support for the joint investigation. "We support Prime Minister Zaidi and the Kurdistan Regional Government in finding those responsible and holding them to account," Barrack stated on social media.[3][6]

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The disruption extends beyond electricity, threatening the supply of household cooking gas across northern Iraq. However, during previous suspensions, the federal Oil Ministry in Baghdad agreed to meet the Kurdistan Region's daily demand for liquefied petroleum gas, mitigating the immediate domestic impact on residents relying on the fuel for heating and cooking.[6]

Energy markets and regional observers are monitoring the repair timelines closely, as the outage underscores the fragility of Iraq's independent energy sector. The repeated vulnerability of the Khor Mor facility highlights the broader security challenges facing foreign energy investments in northern Iraq, as authorities struggle to shield critical infrastructure from asymmetric aerial threats.[1][7]

Managing the grid shortfall

The broader economic toll of the shutdown remains under assessment, but the loss of 750 million cubic feet of daily gas production represents a significant financial hit to both the Pearl Petroleum consortium and the regional government. Previous outages have cost the local economy millions of dollars in lost industrial productivity and emergency fuel procurement.[1][6]

As the investigation proceeds, the focus remains on restoring the 2.8 gigawatts of lost power. The Ministry of Electricity has deployed engineering teams to assist Dana Gas in evaluating the Ka1 section, aiming to isolate the damaged LPG units and potentially restart partial gas flows to the most critical power stations in the coming days.[5][6]

The reliance on the Dokan and Darbandikhan hydroelectric dams provides only a temporary buffer, as water levels and seasonal constraints limit their sustained output. Officials have warned that if the Khor Mor repairs extend beyond a week, the region may be forced to import expensive diesel and heavy fuel oil to keep the alternative-fuel plants running.[1][5]

The attack also raises questions about the efficacy of current security perimeters around major energy assets in Iraq. Despite the presence of local guards and early warning alarms, the facility remains exposed to low-flying suicide drones, prompting renewed discussions between Erbil and Baghdad regarding the deployment of federal anti-aircraft batteries to protect the site.[6][7]

The immediate timeline for restoring the grid hinges on the joint committee's security guarantees and Dana Gas's engineering report, expected later this week. If the Ka1 storage infrastructure requires extensive replacement rather than surface repairs, the Ministry of Electricity will have to secure long-term diesel contracts from Baghdad to prevent the rolling blackouts from extending into the winter months.[5][6]