Iraq's Oil Crisis: War's Ripples Hit Beyond Front Lines

0:00Iraq's Bashar province, home to nearly all the country's oil production, has gone quiet a month into the war with Iran. Oil feels they used to home with activity, are scaling back hard, with output dropping from 3,100,000 barrels a day to just. Around 900,000, exports through the Strait of Hormuz, are completely halted since Iran shut it down, and that's crushing Iraq since oil makes up 90% of it. Budget from both sides are making it worse. Iran-backed militias hitting energy sites in drones, targeting U.S. bases and companies. Foreign workers from American, British, and other firms have pulled out in droves after strikes on key spots like the Burjizia complex and Rumayila. Field. Ports like Unkazaar are running at half capacity, with big ships rerouting through the United Arab Emirates at huge extra cost. Fathers on the ground are feeling the pinch, from engineers at degassing stations noting the eerie calm to traders stuck at borders with Iran.

1:02Families and pilgrims aren't crossing like before, and food shipments get priority to keep prices from spiking. Everyone's on edge with rockets and drones overhead. Leaders at Bazaar oil company, say Iran claims Iraqi crew can pass safely, but tanker owners aren't risking it without Iraq's own fleet. They're eyeing northern pipelines, or trucking through Jordan and Syria, but those are limited and expensive. One field north of Basra shut down after a drone crash. Iraq's government has cashed to last until mid-May, then it'll tap bonds and loans. With global oil prices climbing and no quick fixes, Basra's fight to keep the lights on shows how this war's ripples hit way beyond the front lines. From your city, powered by AI, this is Canada News Today. I'm Corey with the story.