Chevron Evacuates US Oil Workers From Iraq

(RTTNews) - Oil giant Chevron (CVX) has pulled all of its American oil workers out of Iraq following the US airstrike in Baghdad last week. The company said the move was a precautionary measure.

The expatriate employees and contractors have left the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq for the time being. Chevron's oil workers are placed in that region only in Iraq.

At present, local employees are taking care of Chevron's ongoing operations in the region.

CNN reported quoting a Chevron spokeswoman saying that "The safety of our people and facilities is Chevron's top priority globally."

The US airstrike in Baghdad had killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani that resulted in soaring tensions in the country. Following this, the US government had urged American citizens to immediately depart the country.

The Iraqi oil ministry reportedly said Friday that a number of Americans working in southern Iraq began leaving the country, but other foreign workers were not departing and oil fields were operating normally across the country.