ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The key Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province has resumed gas production following the recent strike, though operators have requested security guarantees amid fears of renewed attacks as gas flows to power plants, a source said Saturday.

A strike targeted the key Khor Mor gas field in Sulaimani province late Wednesday. The UAE-based Dana Gas, the field’s operator, said the following day that the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) section was “struck by a rocket attack,” causing no injuries but shutting down production.

The attack was widely condemned regionally and by diplomatic missions. 

“Dana Gas company has resumed gas production, but it is requesting guarantees to send gas to power plants, because Dana Gas fears that whenever it begins exporting gas to power stations, the Khor Mor gas field will be attacked again,” an informed source from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) told the New Region.

It will take one hour for the gas to reach the power plants, after which electricity production will begin, and “within 24 hours electricity supply will return to normal,” as it was before the attack, the source added.

Confirming the development, the New Region correspondent on the ground said, “The export of liquefied gas (LPG) from the Khor Mor field to the cities has begun,” adding that the gas is used for household consumption, vehicles, and factories.

Following the strike on Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani promptly formed a high-level investigation committee, including Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari and intelligence chief Hamid al-Shatri. The delegation arrived in Sulaimani on Friday and headed to the gas facility.

The findings of the committee probing the attack were set to be published “within 72 hours.”

The committee also includes Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Reber Ahmad and is supported by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), marking the first time the coalition is involved in such a case. 

The Kurdistan Region’s natural resources and electricity ministries said the field was targeted by a drone strike, with power supply across the Region slashed by 80 percent and electricity production down to 1,000 MW from 4,000 MW.

The attack also disrupted power delivery to the provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Salahaddin, Iraq’s electricity ministry told The New Region on Thursday.

The Khor Mor field is the main producer of the Kurdistan Region’s electricity, with natural gas reserves of around 1.8 trillion cubic feet. It is operated by Dana Gas, which, alongside affiliate Crescent Petroleum, agreed to a deal with the KRG in 2007 to develop the Region’s gas capacities.