Iraqi-Kurdish Oil Deal Falls Short of Solutions

Nov 16, 2014 | The Telegraph
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Goran Mohammed had just completed his second year of university in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil when he dropped out to help his father run the family grocery store. When that still didn't earn the family enough money, the 19 year old was forced to take a second job as a taxi driver.

"I would prefer to stay in school or go fight (against the Islamic State group) with the peshmerga, but my family needs every penny," he said.

Mohammed's difficulties reflect that of his region, where the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government has struggled to stabilize the local economy in the face of a militant onslaught and an expensive financial dispute with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.

Negotiations between the two sides yielded some progress Thursday after Baghdad agreed to release $500 million in frozen budget payments. In return, the Kurds will provide 150,000 barrels of oil per day for Baghdad to sell. The dispute, which resulted in a freeze on payments of Kurdistan's share of the national budget, has had a significant impact on Kurds living in the north — many of whom have not received salaries in months.