3. ExxonMobil gas well
Haji Ahmed, Iraqi Kurdistan
2017
Giclée print on Hahnemühle photo rag paper
56 x 84 cm
$700
5/5 edition (+ AP)
In February 2015, ExxonMobil resumed the drilling process on land owned by the village of Haji Ahmed. Work had ceased several months earlier as it was deemed too dangerous to continue because of attacks by ISIL against Iraqi Kurdistan. As drilling resumed huge amounts of gas began to be released. This repeatedly prevented villagers of Haji Ahmed and the nearby villages of Sartka, Allawa and Sorabani from entering and working on their fields in the time when their vines, fruit trees and produce needed heightened attention. At the time of my visit, the locals spoke of how their grape vines and other product (near where to photo was taken) was wilted and of too poor quality to sell at market.
Initially, the villagers were promised compensation for the loss of their land and an evacuation vehicle in case of a catastrophic event in the gas fields. They have not received any compensation or vehicle.