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Kurdistan oil minister accuses journalists
of being unable to distinguish between crude and its
byproducts
20.8.2010 |
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Kurdistan Has Right To Sell Crude, Hawrami says
August 20, 2010
ERBIL-Hewlêr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Ashti Hawrami,
Kurdistan's Minister of Natural Resources held a
press conference Thursday answering the questions of
local and foreign reporters about alleged smuggling
of oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iran.
“We have full right to sell crude oil. But we have
not. What we have exported thus far has been
byproducts of oil,” said Hawrami accusing local
journalists of being unable to distinguish between
crude and its byproducts.
Hawrami said that the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) keeps developing its “successful policy”
regarding oil until the Oil and Gas Law package is
approved by the Iraqi Parliament.
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Ashti Hawrami,Minister of Natural Resources of
Kurdistan, talks to reporters in Erbil, Thursday on
August 19, 2010. Rudaw photo. |
The press conference was
held for Hawrami and Kawa Mahmoud, Minister of
Culture in a hall at the Ministry of Culture in
Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan.
He said that the KRG had used most of the money it
made in selling oil to provide electricity for the
people of Kurdistan, adding that the region will
produce aviation fuel and gas next month.
His comments come as an answer to a New York Times
article and
several other local media outlets that had accused
the regional government of smuggling oil to Iran.
Rozhnama, a newspaper for the opposition party
Gorran, published an article last month saying that
hundreds of
millions of dollars
in crude oil had gone to the pockets of the
officials of the two ruling parties.
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud
Barzani, president of Kurdistan and the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani jointly govern the region in the
north of Iraq.
Both of the two ruling parties sued Rozhnama after
it published the story. The court has yet to issue a
verdict.
Kurdistan Oil Minister says
Kurdistan sells black oil, not crude oil
Hawrami said that the oil sold in the market
is black oil and not crude oil he added that it is
being sold thru bids not secret contracts. Hawrami
said Thursday that the region will produce oil for
airplanes next month in Kilk refinery and it would.
Kurdistan region seeks to increase oil revenues to
$25 billion,
Also Hawrami announced on Thursday that his ministry
seeks to increase the daily oil production in the
region to 3-4 million barrels in the coming four
years,www.ekurd.netnoting
that revenues will increase during this period to
$25 billion.
“The region has 45 billion barrels of oil and 200
trillion cubic meters of natural gas,” Hawrami said
at a press conference n Erbil, attended by Aswat
al-Iraq news agency, noting that the ministry has
prepared a strategy to increase the oil and gas
production.
“The gas will be exported through Turkey,” he said.
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