US oil and gas company Chevron is resuming its drilling operations in the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) as concerns about security ease.

“I can confirm that Chevron will be resuming its drilling operations in the KRI,” Chevron spokesperson Sally Jones told MEED. “We look forward to recommencing our activities”.

The company temporarily suspended oil and gas drilling activity in Iraqi Kurdistan in October last year after clashes between the Iraqi national army and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in nearby Kirkuk.

Drilling will resume in Chevron’s Sarta 3 block, which is located north of Erbil.

Chevron started drilling an exploration well in the block in September last year.

Prior to that, the company had not drilled in Iraqi Kurdistan since the second half of 2015.

As well as Sarta, Chevron has a stake in the Qara Dagh block, which it was awarded in 2013.

Chevron holds an 80 per cent interest in the Sarta and Qara Dagh blocks, which cover a combined area of 279,000 acres (1,129 sq km), according to its 2016 annual report.

It does not currently have any production from Iraqi Kurdistan.