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BASRA, Iraq, May 21 (Reuters) - Shell temporarily
evacuated foreign staff, numbering around 60, from Iraq's Basra
Gas Company for security reasons and flew them out of the
country but production was not disrupted, officials and company
executives said on Thursday.
The staff were evacuated 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.
Operations at the gas project were not affected by the
evacuation and work was continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi
engineers, Iraqi officials said.
"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.
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.
Most energy companies in Iraq's south laid off workers to
cut costs after oil prices crashed amid the coronavirus crisis.
(Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing
by Edmund Blair)
