Oil output won’t resume before Mosul is recaptured

Iraq doesn’t expect to resume production from the northern Qayyara oil region before the capture of nearby Mosul from Islamic State, an oil ministry spokesman said yesterday.The region’s two main fields, Qayyara and Najma, used to produce up to 30,000 barrels per day of heavy crude before it fell under control of the militants two years ago.“The rehabilitation process cannot resume unless the security situation improves with the conclusion of the battle for Mosul” some 60km north of Qayyara, oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.