Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad-Erbil Deal is Silent on KRG's Surplus Oil

Dec 9, 2014 | Mohammed A. Salih, Al-Monitor
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ERBIL, Iraq — The new oil agreement between Iraq’s federal government and the autonomous Kurdish government in the north appears to have left some room for confusion as to what the Kurds should do with the significant amount of oil that they do not export under Baghdad’s supervision.

According to the deal signed on Dec. 2, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pledges to export under Baghdad’s supervision 300,000 barrels of oil per day from oil fields it controls in Kirkuk province in addition to 250,000 barrels per day produced from the three provinces officially under the KRG’s jurisdiction. In return, the Iraqi government will hand 17% of the national budget to the KRG. The deal will take effect from the beginning of the coming year.