Expats Flee Iraq’s Oil Boomtown as Islamic State Attacks

By Anna Hirtenstein August 13, 2014
     
Expats Flee Iraq’s Oil Boomtown

A refinery stands 20 kilometres east of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The autonomous region, largely free from the violence that’s plagued the rest of the country, has some of largest untapped oil fields in the world. Photographer: Safin Hamed/AFP via Getty Images
Marc Kolber, a native of Long Island, has spent more than three years overseeing the construction of offices for foreign oil companies in Iraqi Kurdistan. Now he’s joining an exodus of expatriates from the capital, Erbil.

“The expat community in Erbil was thriving, it was a very welcoming and inclusive society,” Kolber said in a telephone interview as his employer made arrangements to evacuate staff. “But now about 80 percent of expats have left.”

The Kurdistan region of Iraq has attracted hundreds of foreigners in the past five years, enticed by a mixture of oil, security and growing prosperity. The autonomous region, largely free from the violence that’s plagued the rest of the country, has some of largest untapped oil fields in the world.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-08-13/expats-flee-iraq-s-oil-boomtown-as-islamic-state-attacks