Shamaran Petroleum has resumed drilling operations in Iraq after the conflict-ridden area was deemed too volatile to stay in.
The firm suspended operations for three weeks, after rising tensions forced oil firms including Oil Search, Petroceltic and Gulf Keystone to withdraw staff from the region.
Shamaran Petroleum confirmed it has since resumed drilling operations on the Atrush block the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Despite the drilling suspension, civil engineering works at the production facility carried on uninterrupted during the 21 days of inactivity.
Mobilisation of the rig planned for the Chiya Khere-6 eastern appraisal well is now under-way.