Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, have exchanged accusations over the payment of foreign oil companies for extraction costs, which the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) demands that the federal government honor. This cost stands at around $4 billion.
Kurdish MP Farhad Atrushi said that the federal government is delaying the payment of dues to oil-extracting companies operating in the provinces of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dahuk in the Kurdistan region. Yet, an MP and close associate of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki replied that so far, Baghdad has paid Erbil $1 billion in oil-extraction costs, while it has received revenues from 56 million out of 160 million exported barrels, according to documents.
