A dispute between the Iraqi central government and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan over oil is heating up, with Baghdad moving to hinder the ability of the Kurdish authorities to make deals with foreign oil companies.
A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at West Qurna oilfield in Iraq’s southern province of Basra November 28, 2010
Iraqi officials on Tuesday said their country’s next oil lease auction will restrict companies’ ability to sign contracts with Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern region of Kurdistan.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry inserted a clause that gave ministers the authority to cancel any contracts with foreign oil companies if they sign a deal with the Kurdish regional government, or other local entities, without prior approval.
“We decided to include an obligation on the side of the companies…not to work in any area of Iraq — not just the Kurdistan region — without the approval of the federal government,” said Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, the head of the Ministry’s petroleum contract and licensing directorate.
