Erbil willing to negotiate oil, gas law with Baghdad: official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil is willing to conduct negotiations with Baghdad on the issue of oil and gas extraction from the Kurdistan Region, but they are yet to make any progress, an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) told Rudaw on Wednesday.

“We are willing to engage in talks with the central government regarding this matter, because we believe it is depriving the people of Kurdistan from their entitled rights,” Bewar Khinsi, Advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told Rudaw’s Hemin Baban.

The advisor also stressed upon the catastrophic implications that would be inflicted on the Kurdistan Region if they are rendered unable to generate income from the oil and gas industry given that “90 percent of the entire income of Iraq depends on oil.” 

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled against the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas law in mid-February, claiming that it was “unconstitutional”, hence striking down the independence of the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas sector and putting its industry in jeopardy.

Khinsi also emphasized that the decision made by the Iraqi top court against the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas law was a political one. 

With regards to the expected timing of the negotiations, Khinsi said that the KRG is currently waiting for a response from the government in Baghdad, while expressing his doubts that they will take place before the formation of a new Iraqi cabinet.

In a press conference on March 3, PM Barzani stated that according to article 111 of the Iraqi constitution, the oil and gas of Iraq is a property of the whole country, which includes the Kurdistan Region, its cities, and its provinces.

Kurdistan’s oil and gas law complies with all the provisions of the constitution, PM Barzani said, reiterating that the “so-called” Iraqi Federal Court’s decision is “against” Iraq’s constitution as “it is a change in the constitutional articles.”

The KRG passed its oil and gas law in 2007, enabling it to administer and develop its own oil and gas resources.

The KRG exported a total of nearly 80 million barrels of crude oil in the first half of 2021, collecting a net $1.7 billion.

By Chenar Chalak