Iraq has ordered a halt to oil production at the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the country’s supergiant fields capable of pumping approximately 460,000 barrels per day. The shutdown stems from a pipeline leak compounded by broader export and storage constraints tied to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating regional tensions.
A field already under pressure
West Qurna 2, located about 65 km northwest of Basra, began commercial production in 2014 and holds estimated reserves in the billions of barrels.
Russia’s Lukoil, which had operated the field under a technical service contract, declared force majeure in November 2025 after US sanctions made continued operations untenable. Payments were suspended, and by January 2026, operational control was handed over to Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company.
An amicable settlement with Lukoil was approved in February 2026. Reports indicated that major Western firms, potentially including Chevron, could be involved in future arrangements at the field. Then came the March 3 production halt, which didn’t just affect West Qurna 2. Disruptions simultaneously hit the Rumaila field (approximately 700,000 bpd) and the Maysan fields (around 325,000 bpd), creating a cascading supply problem across Iraq’s southern oil infrastructure.
