Iraqi Kurdistan’s reappointed Oil Minister Ashti Hawrami renewed his insistence that Kurdish authorities be involved in any deals Iraq signs with foreign oil majors over the Kirkuk oilfields, Reuters reports.
It said a new government took office in the semi-autonomous Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq on November 4 following an election in July. Relations are tense between Iraqi Kurds and the Arab-led government in Baghdad due to disputes over land and resources.
“We, in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), should be part of talks with oil companies to develop fields in any disputed area,” Hawrami told Reuters when asked if he objected to any deal with Royal Dutch Shell.
The national Oil Ministry is currently pursuing a deal to develop the oilfields around Kirkuk with Shell.
Tensions over disputed, oil-rich territories that dot the Kurdish frontier have almost led to clashes as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki exerts more control over the whole country after years of bloodshed triggered by the US invasion.
Hawrami’s reappointment under new KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih surprised some Kurdish lawmakers but only four of the 111 legislators voted against it. Another four abstained while a new opposition party walked out of the entire session.
Do you agree that the Kurds should have a say over the companies picked to operate in their part of the country? Or is this really a matter for the central government to decide? Will disagreement between the two sides mean problems for the oil and gas industry?
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posted by: noreply@blogger.com
091104
:Will IOC's suffer from problems between Kurds and the Iraqi government?
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