Dispute over Iraqi Kurdistan's energy resources ramps up
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced plans to establish a new oil company for the Kurdistan Region.
BAGHDAD — Amid the tense relations between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the implementation of the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling that deemed the 2007 oil and gas law governing the country's Kurdistan Region to be unconstitutional, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced May 21 that the federal government aims to establish a new oil company in the Kurdistan Region. The company is tasked with signing new service contracts with oil firms operating in the Kurdistan Region, it said.
The announcement came after the Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed that it had embarked on a series of steps to implement the court ruling and to include the management of oil and gas in the exclusive powers given the federal government.
The Iraqi Supreme Court proclaimed Feb. 15 Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil and gas law of 2007 unconstitutional. The court abolished the law because it violates constitutional provisions, and ordered the Kurdistan Region to hand over oil production to the federal government.
The Federal Supreme Court is the top judicial authority in Iraq. It is the body that decides the constitutionality of laws, regulations, instructions and orders disputed between the federal government and the regions.
