KRG Prime Minister Promotes Kurdish Oil on European Visit
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minster Nechirvan Barzani has used a trip to Europe to drum up interest in Kurdish oil, as the region announces plans to expand its export capabilities, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari.
The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, has taken part in an international conference on energy security and foreign affairs organized by the Christian Democratic Party and headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The visit to Germany has sparked European interest in Kurdish crude oil.
Once back, Barzani headed to Ankara to discuss the expansion of an oil pipeline from Kurdistan to Turkey. The project is seen by Kurdish politicians as crucial for ensuring the independence of the oil sector in Iraq. The federal government, however, opposes this initiative.
Clearly, the US is aware of Kurdish ambitions to independently invest their oil. Media sources close to US Secretary of State John Kerry shared that Kerry has called Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, twice in the few past days to encourage him to abandon unilateral negotiations with Turkey.
According to press sources, Kerry has asked Barzani to halt exporting oil to Turkey, which it has been doing for a while, to avoid deepening the rift between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government concerning this issue.
