SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi government intends to review contracts signed by the Kurdistan Region with oil firms, the minister of oil on Saturday.
“The central government demands all oil exports on Iraqi territory pass through it, and also wants to reconsider the contracts signed by the Kurdish region in a unilateral form,” Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said during a meeting with French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and officials from TotalEnergies in Paris.
He further said Baghdad intended to “change” the existing contracts while preserving the rights of all parties, according Al Masalah news outlet.
Kurdistan’s massive untapped oil reserves, lucrative production-sharing contracts and safe environment have prompted international oil companies over recent years to commit to investing billions of dollars there.
But in February, Iraq’s federal court deemed the oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that the Kurdish government hand over their crude supplies.
Iraq’s federal court’s ruling gives the oil ministry in Baghdad the authority to manage oil and gas fields in Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has rejected the court’s ruling.
