Erbil-Baghdad oil relations swing between deal, no deal

Mohammed A. Salih

Jul 27, 2015

Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attend a joint news conference in Arbil April 6, 2015. Abadi said the Baghdad government would work with Kurdish authorities to liberate the northern province of Nineveh from Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTR4W8W4 — Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attend a joint news conference in Erbil, April 6, 2015. — REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Türkçe

ERBIL, Iraq — Encouraged by more international interest in purchasing its oil, coupled with the apparent failure of the federal Iraqi government to provide agreed-upon budget handouts, the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has embarked on a new policy of unilateral independent oil sales.

Since the beginning of June, the KRG has unilaterally sold the bulk of oil produced from its zone as well as Kirkuk’s fields, much to the Iraqi government’s ire.