Shell temporarily evacuated foreign staff from Iraq’s Basra Gas Company for security reasons, officials and company executives said on Thursday.
The employees who are up to 60 flew out of the country, however, production was not halted, according to the officials.
“Shell’s evacuation is a precautionary and temporary measure and its foreign staff will provide advice and perform their duties remotely for now,” a senior Basra Gas Company official said.
This took place on Wednesday after laid off workers staged a protest in the headquarters of Basra Gas Company, a venture between state-owned South Gas Company, Shell and Mitsubishi, officials said.
The protest was also close to a Shell company compound, Reuters reported.
Operations at the gas project were not affected by the evacuation and work was continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, Iraqi officials said.
Iraqi security officials providing security at the Basra Gas Company said Wednesday’s protest was limited and did not pose a threat, adding that the situation was secured.
