The Canary In The Coal Mine: Exxon Evacuates Workers From Iraq

I think it was sometime over the weekend that I said that the "canary in the coal mine" would be when we started seeing stories of foreign oil and gas companies (generally that means the US) start to pull their workers out of Iraq.

It's starting.

CNBC is reporting:

Exxon has carried out a "major evacuation,'' and BP had evacuated 20 percent of its staff, the head of Iraq's state-run South Oil Company said Wednesday.

Dhiya Jaffar also said ENI, Schlumberger, Weatherford and Baker Hughes had no plans to evacuate staff from Iraq following the lightning advance of Sunni militants through the country. The companies, which are based in southern Iraq where the government is still in firm control, were not immediately available for comment.

I assume these other companies have plans to evacuate if necessary -- they simply have not put them in place. If these companies have no plans to protect their workers that is a huge dereliction of duty. 

No plans to evacuate. Wow, such a cavalier attitude.