Baghdad could take oil in new direction — away from Turkey
Now that Iraq's central government in Baghdad has reclaimed oil-rich Kirkuk from the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq is considering changes that could hurt Turkey's standing in the oil market there.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — The Kurds in Iraq are suffering from their loss of the lucrative Kirkuk oil fields, which the central government retook by force recently. What some people might not realize is, Turkey also has a lot to lose because of the change.
Since the British first discovered oil in Iraq at Kirkuk in the late 1920s, the struggle for its ownership has never ceased, although the players involved have changed. This lucrative oil source — whose ownership is claimed outright by both Kurds and Arabs, and partially by Turkey — is back in the news.
