|
Iraq in talks with Kurds over oil contracts
21.4.2008
|
|
|
|
April
21, 2008
ROME, -- Baghdad is in talks with Iraqi
Kurdistan regional authorities on contracts signed
by foreign oil companies in the territory, Iraq's
Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told reporters
Monday.
"There has been a delegation led by the Prime
Minister of the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government)
in Baghdad and we started our discussions," al-Shahristani
said on the sidelines of the International Energy
Forum here.
"We will continue those discussions after my return
to Baghdad," he added.
The contracts "have to meet the conditions of the
hydrocarbons law of February 2007," the minister
insisted,www.ekurd.net
referring to a new law
aimed at encouraging foreign oil companies to invest
in the Iraqi oil sector. |
Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani |
The government in Baghdad and authorities in the
autonomous Kurdistan region of 'northern Iraq' have
been at loggerheads over contracts signed between
the Kurds and foreign oil companies for months.
In November, al-Shahristani announced he had
cancelled around 15 oil contracts signed by the
authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan.
In response, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzan
insisted the contracts would be honoured, saying
"nobody can cancel contracts signed by Kurdistan,"
as his government approved the signature of seven
more oil contracts.
The autonomous Kurdistan regional government in
'northern Iraq' has signed 15 exploration and export
contracts with 20 international companies since it
passed its own oil law in August 2007, infuriating
the Baghdad government.
Al-Shahristani has repeatedly said he considers the
contracts "illegal."
He has threatened the companies concerned that they
would not in future have the chance to work with the
Iraqi government, threats that have so far have not
been carried out.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, AFP
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 