The US currently sanctions trade with Iran and does not support the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq’s attempts to trade energy independent of central government control from Baghdad. Furthermore, the US has recently warned Turkey, which has not only expanded the scale of its oil and gas imports from Iran, but also ships KRG’s crude oil via truck instead of using Baghdad-controlled oil pipelines.
A contradiction here is clear. In opposition to their own government's actions, US-based Exxon Mobile and Chevron are now exploring KRG oil fields. Moreover, despite the ongoing dispute with the central government, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) owns shares in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field, which is led by BP, Shah Deniz and comprises the main supply of sources for the southern energy corridor project to Europe.
