SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Baghdad court rejected the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) legal tactic that demanded to delay the lawsuit against the international oil companies (IOCs) contracts that have been signed with the Region, a judicial source said on Tuesday.
The KRG has requested Baghdad’s Karkh Commercial Court to review the lawsuit filed against the IOCs that are registered in the Region’s energy sector and already operate there.
“Iraq’s oil ministry lawsuit in Karkh court that filled against IOCs in the Region will continue to proceed,” Judge Mohammed Ali Mahmood said.
The oil ministry in Baghdad made fresh attempts to control revenue from the Kurdistan region. 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.
Subsequently, on May 28, the federal oil ministry announced that the Iraqi government intends to review contracts signed by the Kurdistan Region with IOCs.
Iraq’s federal court’s ruling gives the oil ministry in Baghdad the authority to manage oil and gas fields in Kurdistan, it also challenges the contracts that the region has made with international oil firms.
