Oryx Petroluem: Kurdish security improved

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Canadian energy company Oryx Petroleum said "tangible improvements" in the Kurdish north of Iraq mean it can return to work at the Hawler license area.

The company in June sold its first volumes of crude oil from the Demir Dagh reserve area to the domestic market. Most of the company's work there was secured from violence, but Chief Executive Officer Michael Ebsary said operations had experienced a short interruption.

"We are very pleased that tangible improvements to the security environment in the Kurdistan Region have enabled us to resume all activities at our core asset, the Demir Dagh field," he said in a statement Wednesday.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Wednesday it was no longer advising against all travel to the Kurdish capital, Erbil, though much of northwestern Iraq is considered too dangerous for British nationals.

The rise of the Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL, has prompted several oil companies operating in the region to evacuate non-essential staff as a security precaution.

"We continue to closely monitor the situation in close co-ordination with authorities in the Kurdistan Region and continue to take measures needed to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations," Ebsary said.

Gross production from Demir Dagh should reach 25,000 bpd by the end of the year as operations proceed, the company said