WASHINGTON DC-- The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans on Monday struck down an appeal by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) to reverse an earlier decision by a Texas judge that stopped the delivery of Kurdish oil to an American buyer.
The KRG said however that the ruling will not hamper its determination to continue selling oil in the US or the world market.
In its 13-page ruling, the court in New Orleans said that by its voluntary decision to sell its oil to another foreign country the KRG had mooted its appeal.
“In so doing, the KRG severely weakened its argument for equitable relief,” read the text of the ruling.
UNITED KALAVRYTA oil tanker carrying over one million barrels of Kurdish oil was stopped 60 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas last year after the Iraqi oil ministry challenged the sale by filing a lawsuit against the KRG at the Houston court.
For its part, the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said in a statement posted on its website that Monday’s ruling did not ban the sale of Kurdish oil to the US or any country, maintaining its right to independent oil sales.
“Yesterday's procedural decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals means that the Ministry of Oil will finally be forced to drop its baseless lawsuit, because the KRG oil that the Ministry tried to seize has already been sold and delivered,” said MNR’s statement.
“There is no prohibition on the KRG’s export of oil to the United States or elsewhere, and the KRG will continue to export hydrocarbons as the Iraqi Constitution permits,” it added.
The US court ruling demands of the KRG to inform the judge before making future oil deliveries to American buyers.
The US court said it had been informed by the Iraqi ministry of oil of KRG’s redirecting of the oil tanker to a third country.
“The KRG failed to inform the court that it had discharged the Cargo in a foreign port, thus making vacatur still less appropriate. Having considered the facts of this particular case, we hold that the KRG has not carried its burden “to demonstrate Case ‘equitable entitlement to the extraordinary remedy of vacatur,” it read.
