Tag Archives | oil contracts

Iraq Again Demands Exxon Response on Oil Deal

Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday that Iraq will send ExxonMobil a further letter demanding an explanation of its contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after receiving no response so far from the U.S. oil group, according to a report from Reuters. "So far we have sent Exxon three letters and tomorrow we will […]

Baghdad Considers Action Against ExxonMobil

Dr Hussain al-Sharistani, Iraq’s deputy prime minister responsible for energy, told reporters in London that Baghdad is considering its action against ExxonMobil for "breaching the law" by entering into an exploration agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG): "ExxonMobil has written to the Iraqi Government about this, and they have received the response from the […]

Video: Exxon-KRG Deal Escalates Tensions

CNN's Arwa Damon brings this report from Kurdistan on the continuing struggle between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad's Ministry for Oil over the right to grant oil contracts in the Kurdish region.   (Source: CNN)

Shell to Replace Exxon at West Qurna 1?

According to Dow Jones, the Iraqi oil ministry could ask Shell to develop Iraq's supergiant West Qurna Phase 1 oil field in southern Iraq, if the government decides to terminate ExxonMobil's contract after it signed a deal to explore for oil in Iraqi Kurdistan. "We have many options," said Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the […]

Fallout from ExxonMobil/KRG Continues

The fallout from the agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and ExxonMobil to explore six blocks in Kurdistan continues to be felt. According to a report on Friday by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the U.S. government-funded news outlet, Iraq’s central government said it had settled the oil dispute with the KRG with an agreement […]

ExxonMobil's Kurdistan Gamble

An adviser to the Resources Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed on Friday that ExxonMobil has signed agreements to explore for oil and gas in six blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Dow Jones. This is big news, as the Baghdad government has previously excluded companies operating in the Kurdish region from oil contracts […]

Shahristani Retains Hard Line on KRG Oil Contracts

Iraq's deputy prime minister has said that oil contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must be rewritten, and that recent government payments to international producers in the region in no way validate the contracts, according to a report from Reuters. "The contracts as they stand will have to be presented to the government […]

KRG Puts Oil Contracts In Public Domain

As part of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s ongoing transparency initiative, the Ministry of Natural Resources is putting all signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) for oil and gas in the Kurdistan Region into the public domain. The move, announced today by Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami, means that the PSCs, their attachments and amendments are […]

Debate Continues on Legality of Kurdistan's Petroleum Contracts

By Thomas W. Donovan, Managing Partner at Iraq Law Alliance, PLLC. Introduction Several recent events have prompted a return to the lingering debate over the legality of the production sharing contracts entered into by and between the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and around 35 private international companies over the past few years. The KRG, […]

Parliamentary Committee to Consider Kurdish Oil Contracts

The Oil and Energy Parliamentary Committee will discuss the controversial oil contracts awarded by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq amid objections from the Federal Oil Ministry, it was announced on Monday. The contracts were awarded in 2009 by the KRG, but were never officially recognized by the central government in Iraq, who said […]