Last checked at 
By Ahmed Rasheed and Peg Mackey
BAGHDAD/LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Iraq has moved swiftly torestore calm at its giant southern oilfields following violentprotests, and the world's top oil services company is expectedto return to work next week at its biggest field, Rumaila, asenior Iraqi official said on Thursday.
Dozens of angry Shi'ite Muslim workers and tribesmen stormedthe Schlumberger Ltd camp in North Rumaila and wreckedoffices early on Monday after accusing a foreign securityadviser of insulting their religion, police and employees at thefield said.
But the situation at the BP-operated Rumaila oilfield- core to Iraq's oil expansion plans - is now calm and safe forSchlumberger to get back to work, Thamir Ghadhban, chairman ofthe advisory commission to Iraq's Council of Ministers, toldReuters.
Rumaila pumps about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), morethan a third of Iraq's total output of over 3 million bpd.
"Schlumberger management is still on the ground andoperations are expected to resume next week," said Ghadhban,speaking by telephone from Baghdad.
A Schlumberger spokesman said the company was committed toIraq and was reviewing options to resume operations under thenecessary security conditions, with government support.
The company sent two private planes to Basra to collect morethan 300 workers earlier on Thursday, an airport official toldReuters. Ghadhban said most of the Schlumberger departuresinvolved dependents and non-essential personnel.
Several hundred other expatriates also left Basra thismorning, the airport official said, but they were on normalflights, not sudden departures.
Ghadhban, a former Iraqi oil minister, said there had beenno reduction in production and exports during the Rumailaincident.
Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, expects a robustreturn to growth next year as foreign companies at work in itssouthern oilfields push output toward the highest level ever.
Oil officials and workers at the Schlumberger drilling sitesaid the problem started when a security adviser they identifiedas British asked Iraqi workers to take down a flag and bannersdepicting a figure revered by Shi'ites.
According to workers and officials, when the workers refusedto remove the banners, the security adviser went to do sohimself and tore one portraying Imam Hussein, whose death morethan 1,000 years ago is currently being commemorated by Shi'itesaround the world in rituals known as Ashura.
"The Iraqi government will not allow anyone to take the lawinto their own hands, and stringent measures have been taken toensure the safety of all foreign personnel and the security ofall oil operations," Ghadhban said.
"At the same time, the foreign workers must respect thereligious traditions of the Iraqi people," he added.
Officials were unable to comment on the resumption of workby Baker Hughes Inc, also hit by the protests.
"The situation is still fluid, and our top concern remainsthe safety and welfare of our employees," a Houston-based BakerHughes spokeswoman said, offering no further details.
On Saturday, an Egyptian worker hired by Baker Hughes towork at a drilling rig in Rumaila removed and tore a flagdepicting a holy Shi'ite figure, prompting Iraqi authorities toterminate his residency and expel him from the country, oilofficials said.
A high-level security delegation headed by Iraq energypolice commander Major General Hamid Ibrahim met with officialsfrom Schlumberger and Baker Hughes at their camps near the oilhub of Basra to assure them that security had been tightened.
"I assured them that the security of their companies and staff is our utmost priority and that all necessary measures arebeing taken to prevent a recurrence of these incidents," Hamidtold Reuters.
He was accompanied by officials from South Oil Co (SOC),which manages the southern oilfields, and the militarycommanders of the Basra operation.
"We have met with international oil operators to discuss therecent incidents and the effect, if any, on production," asenior SOC official told Reuters.
"They all confirmed that production in the key oilfields ofRumaila, Zubair and West Qurna is going according to planwithout interruption."
Baghdad has ordered a probe into the assault againstSchlumberger's security staff, said Hamid.
He criticised Schlumberger's security company for failing toprotect the camp and for insensitivity to the community'sreligious sensibilities.
