Kurdistan/Iraq: Kurds Tighten Grip on North Iraq Oil Fields with Kirkuk Deal

Mar 3, 2016 | Khalid Al Ansary and Bruce Stanley, Bloomberg
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Iraq’s self-governing Kurds are cementing control over oil produced in the north of the country by agreeing to sell crude pumped in the contested province of Kirkuk, a year after they started selling all their own oil independently on global markets. The accord covers oil produced in Kirkuk, which Kurdish forces occupied after federal troops fled the area ahead of advancing Islamic State militants in mid-2014, Kirkuk Governor Najmuddin Omar Karim said in an e-mailed statement. The Kurds, who are exporting Kirkuk crude with their own oil through a pipeline to Turkey, agreed to deposit $10 million a month into a dedicated bank account for Kirkuk, Karim said Wednesday.