据阿联酋国民日报5月20日报道，伊拉克石油部长称，埃克森美孚公司将员工撤离伊拉克只是一项临时措施，石油设施仍然安全。

“埃克森美孚离开的时间很短。”塔米尔·加德班在吉达说。“这只是暂时的。他们只疏散了80名员工到迪拜，所以他们没有退出合同或终止合同。我希望他们很快会回来。我们知道他们是受政府指示的。”

在美国大使馆指示将所有非必要的美国工人迁出伊拉克后，石油专业人员上周撤出了伊拉克。据说包括壳牌在内的其他专业公司正在“监控”这种情况。埃克森美孚是伊拉克南部巴士拉省西部最大油田之一西古尔纳的主要承包商。在南方工作的外国公司有壳牌、英国石油、埃克森美孚、俄罗斯卢克石油和意大利埃尼。《国民日报》周五报道称，埃克森美孚已开始从巴士拉裁员，但该美国公司拒绝透露更多细节。

加德班表示，在伊拉克的外国工人是安全的，该国的任何石油设施都没有受到威胁。“伊拉克南部正在享受和平与安宁。”他说。“有成千上万的外籍人士在伊拉克工作，也有伊拉克人在南部工作，尤其是大部分石油都在那里。”

孙子舒 编译自 阿联酋国民日报

原文如下，

Exxon Mobil's Iraq evacuation only temporary, says oil minister

Exxon Mobil’s removal of staff from Iraq was only a temporary measure and oil installations were still safe, the country’s oil minister said.

"Exxon Mobil left for a short period," Thamir Ghadhban said in Jeddah. "It’s only temporary."They evacuated only 80 staff to Dubai so they have not pulled out of the contract or terminated the contract at all."I hope that they will be back soon. We know that they were instructed by their government."

The oil major pulled staff out of Iraq last week after the US embassy instruction to move all non-essential American workers out of the country.Other majors including Shell were said to be "monitoring" the situation.Exxon Mobil is the lead contractor in West Qurna, one of Iraq’s largest oil fields, west of the southern province of Basra.Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil, Russia's Lukoil and Italy's Eni are among foreign companies working in the south.The National reported on Friday that Exxon Mobil had begun to remove its staff from Basra, but the US company declined to be more explicit about its move.

Mr Ghadhban said foreign workers in Iraq were safe and there were no threats against any oil installations in the country."South of Iraq is enjoying peace and tranquillity," he said. "There are thousands and thousands of expatriates working in Iraq as well as Iraqis in the south, especially where most of the oil is.