Hess suspends Iraqi Kurdistan operations, evacuates staff

Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, re-enter Iraq from Syria at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in Fishkhabour, Dohuk Province, August 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. oil producer Hess Corp has suspended oil-drilling operations in Iraqi Kurdistan and started to evacuate non-essential staff amid spreading violence in the region, its minority partner Petroceltic said.

"It has been decided, as a precautionary measure, to temporarily secure and suspend operations, including the drilling of Shireen-1 exploration well in the Dinarta licence," Petroceltic said in a statement.