A major conference on oil and gas in Iraq has been postponed until next year in the wake of the violent scenes at the Rumaila oilfield last week.
The Iraq Future Energy forum, which was due to be held at Basra for the first time, had been scheduled for next week.
But after the violence by Shiite Muslims following two incidents on the oil field last week, the event has been moved to June next year.
“In light of recent events and in consultation with our strategic partners Iraq Energy Institute, our ministerial supporters, our sponsors and our speakers we have made the difficult but prudent decision to move the summit from November 2013,” the organisers said in a statement.
“The Energy Exchange remain committed to Iraq and its energy Sectors and look forward to being a supporter of their growth over the coming years.”
It was the first time the event had been scheduled to be held in Iraq itself, having previously been staged in Turkey.
More than 100 delegates from oil majors and international companies had been due at the conference, which was sponsored by the Iraqi governmnet, the country’s Energy Institute and BP.
Baker Hughes declared force majeure in Iraq following the first incident, which saw an Egyptian worker take down flags commemorating the death of Imam Hussein.
Security firm G4S says it is investigating the second incident which sparked violent scenes at Schlumberger’s camp near Basra last week.
A British security worker was hospitalised after being beaten by angry Shiite muslims at the camp on Monday.
A spokesman for the security firm told Energy Voice the company was continuing to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
Energy Voice understands that the security worker, whose name has been withheld for safety reasons, has now returned to the UK after being released from hospital. He suffered cuts and broken bones, but was not seriously injured.
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