"Chevron can confirm that it has resumed its activities in the KRI and we have restarted drilling operations at our Sarta 3 well," a company spokeswoman said in an email to AFP.

Chevron halted drilling in October after an independence referendum in the northern city of Erbil sparked tensions with Baghdad.

Baghdad responded harshly to the vote, declaring the referendum illegal, imposing an aerial blockade on Kurdistan and sending troops to the contested region.