MESOP EXPLOITING KURDISH OIL! – VIA BAGHDAD ! UNITED STATES!

U.S. Schlumberger will not apply for Iraqi Kurdistan oil tenders without Baghdad’s consent

MESOP 30.6.22 BAGHDAD,— U.S. energy company Schlumberger has said it will not apply without Baghdad’s consent for any tenders in the oil and gas sector of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, according to a letter sent to the Iraqi oil minister and seen by Reuters.

Schlumberger said it would comply with a February ruling by Iraq’s federal supreme court, which deemed an oil and gas law regulating the industry in Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over crude supplies.

The ruling of the Baghdad-based court has strained tensions between the Iraqi government and the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), based in the northern city of Erbil.

In May, Baghdad made a fresh attempt to control revenue from Kurdistan by asking oil and gas companies operating there to sign new contracts with state-owned marketer SOMO rather than the KRG.

In a letter sent to Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail on behalf of Schlumberger, the company said it was committed to operate in compliance with the decision.

“In the event of any existing contracts (in Kurdistan), Schlumberger Middle East S.A. will make every effort to resolve the same,” it said.

Iraq’s state news agency INA earlier reported that Schlumberger had decided to exit Iraqi Kurdistan but later corrected its story, dropping all mention of plans to exit, without elaborating.

Kurdistan has been developing oil and gas resources independently of the federal government and in 2007 enacted its own law establishing the directives by which the region would administer these resources.

KRG crude is exported through a pipeline that runs from Iraq’s Kirkuk region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

On February 22, 2022, Iraq’s Supreme court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude supplies.

According to a court ruling, the Kurdish authorities in Erbil must hand over all crude from the KRG and nearby territories to Iraq’s federal government, which is represented by the oil ministry in Baghdad.

Oil contracts between the KRG and oil firms, foreign parties, and states were declared null and void by the court verdict. Exploration, extraction, export, and sale agreements are all included, according to the court.

The KRG has repeatedly rejected the federal court ruling. In 2007, the Kurdistan region adopted an oil and gas law, allowing it to manage and develop its own natural resources.

On April 2, the Iraqi oil ministry has asked for copies of all oil and gas contracts signed by the Kurdish administration since 2004, as well as information on the Kurdistan region’s hydrocarbon revenues, for the purpose of reviewing and amending them. Iraq’s federal government has instructed the KRG to transfer its oil and gas operations to a new company named Kurdistan Oil Company ahead of Baghdad’s takeover of the Kurdistan’s operations.

On May 7, 2022, Oil minister Ihsan Ismael said Iraq’s oil ministry would start implementing a February federal court ruling that deemed the legal foundations of the Kurdistan region’s oil and gas sector unconstitutional.

On May 12, INOC published an analysis detailing how the KRG’s production-sharing contracts are financially worse for both the government and foreign oil firms than federal Iraq’s own technical service contracts. According to the report, the KRG’s contracts with multinational corporations and the exportation of extracted oil and gas violate the Iraqi constitution as it deprives the federal government of control over the country’s oil and gas industry.

On May 15, Iraq’s state-owned North Oil (NOC) claimed that KRG forces took control of some oil wells in the disputed region of Kirkuk but the KRG denied the allegation, claiming it was designed to create chaos.

On May 19, Iraq has asked oil and gas firms operating in Kurdistan region to sign new contracts with state-owned marketer SOMO rather than the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Iraqi oil ministry appointed international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton to approach some oil and gas firms operating in the Kurdistan region to “initiate discussions to bring their operations into line with applicable Iraqi law.”

On May 26, 2022, Iraqi Kurdistan region’s Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Atroshi, has resigned from his post.

The Kurdish administration which called itself a Kurdistan Regional Government KRG is not transparent in disclosing the exact amount of oil revenue to the public and to Kurdistan parliament, according to observers and Kurdish politicians.

Many Kurdish politicians, observers, and the ordinary people believe that many of Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil industry projects and deals are conducted in a non-transparent way. Some have even described them as secretive.

Iraqi Kurdistan region considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to watchdogs, Kurdish lawmakers and leaked documents billions of dollars are missing from oil revenues.

According to local and international analysts and watchdogs the lack of control mechanisms in Iraqi Kurdistan makes it a paradise for illegal financial activities by the Kurdish ruling leaders.

Iraqi Kurdistan-ruling Barzani clan, known as the “Kurdish oligarchs”, have been routinely accused by critics and observers of neptunism and amassing huge wealth from oil business for the family instead of serving the population.

Massoud Barzani, remains the most powerful leader in the shadow according to analysts. Massoud’s son Masrour is the Kurdistan region’s prime minister and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is the president of Kurdistan.