Iraq's oil ministry has ordered companies operating under contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to terminate them within three months as Baghdad steps up efforts to bring the region's oil sector under its control. The order-communicated in a letter seen by Energy Intelligence-follows a bombshell Feb. 15 ruling by Iraq's Supreme Court that rejected the KRG's right to manage the oil resources within the territory of the largely autonomous region. The KRG has oercely disputed the ruling, insisting that it is "unconstitutional. " The KRG argues that its oil operations and its contracts are entirely legal under the oil and gas law it passed in 2007. This latest step appears to mark an escalation in the quarrel, with the federal ministry in Baghdad now addressing companies directly.
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