Kurdish oil installations safe, Gulf Keystone says

LONDON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Gulf Keystone Petroleum said Thursday its operations in the Kurdish north of Iraq are safe, though precautionary measures are in place.

Gulf Keystone is one of the premier oil producers in the Kurdish north of Iraq. The company in June said production from the Shaikan oil field in the region should be at 40,000 barrels per day by year's end.

Kurdish forces this week responded to incursions from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a Sunni-led group that declared an Islamic state over parts of northwestern Iraq. The company, which has headquarters in London, said its Shaikan production facilities are safe and secure. "While there is no immediate threat to any of the company's operations in the region, we continue to monitor the situation closely and operate with increased security as a precaution," the company said in a statement.

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement regional forces known as Peshmerga will be able to defeat the Sunni insurgents.

"The Kurdistan Regional Government, with its faith in Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces, promises the people of Kurdistan that it will not allow terrorists to defile the sacred land of Kurdistan nor hinder the continuation of life in Kurdistan," he said Wednesday.