Latest news with #IraqiKurdistan
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
New investments land in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan is tapping into its cultural and natural wealth to grow its tourism sector. CNN explores how it is marketing itself to international visitors and investors.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
New investments land in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan is tapping into its cultural and natural wealth to grow its tourism sector. CNN explores how it is marketing itself to international visitors and investors.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
New investments land in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan is tapping into its cultural and natural wealth to grow its tourism sector. CNN explores how it is marketing itself to international visitors and investors.
Zawya
23-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
US sees promise in American firms helping oil, gas development in Iraqi Kurdistan
WASHINGTON - There is ample opportunity for U.S. cooperation on oil and gas development in Iraqi Kurdistan, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, despite Iraq's federal government disputing deals that U.S. companies signed with the region this week. Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani this week oversaw the signing of two agreements in Washington with U.S. companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes. "I see great opportunity for American cooperation there as evidenced by the signing of these two deals and we would love to see that commercial relationship grow and flourish," Wright told a conference in Washington. The deals drew swift opposition from Baghdad's oil ministry which deemed them "null and void." Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil. An Iraqi oil ministry official said the signing of the agreements were conducted without Baghdad's knowledge and would impact efforts to resume the export of Kurdistan regional oil. An oil pipeline running through Turkey has been halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled Ankara violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent. Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details. Iraq's power generation depends heavily on Iranian natural gas imports. Boosting Iraqi Kurdistan's oil and gas production could wean northern Iraq off that dependence and keep pressure on Tehran as Washington tries to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Wright said the development of oil and gas in Iraqi Kurdistan would help northern Iraq and its allies. "It's very aligned with President (Donald) Trump's agenda to have unleashed energy dominance in the United States and to our allies abroad," he said. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Mark Porter and Chris Reese)
Asharq Al-Awsat
21-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Energy Firms' Deals with Iraqi Kurdistan ‘Null and Void', Baghdad Says
Iraqi Kurdistan announced deals worth $110 billion over their lifetime with US firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros on Tuesday, drawing swift opposition from Baghdad's oil ministry which deemed them "null and void". Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the deals in a speech in Washington, a day after they were flagged by an adviser on social media. "The regional government is fully committed to developing the energy sector, especially as our reforms represent a significant step towards securing round-the-clock electricity supplies for all residents ...We also hope to contribute to providing electricity to other areas in Iraq," Barzani said, according to a statement released by the Kurdistan government. The deals involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah. "These contracts are null and void. Natural resources belong to all Iraqis, and any agreement to invest in them must be made through the federal government, not in defiance of the law and the constitution," Iraq's oil ministry said. Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil. In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources issued a statement in response to the Iraqi oil ministry asserting its right and authority to sign energy deals. "These deals are based on contracts signed many years ago, which have also been upheld as legal and valid by Iraqi courts... The recent change has been in the operating companies, in accordance with the legal and contractual framework of the existing agreements," it said. An oil ministry official said agreement signings in Washington were conducted without Baghdad's previous knowledge. "Signing energy agreements without consulting with the central government will further complicate relations between Baghdad and Erbil and will impact efforts to resume the export of Kurdistan regional oil," said a senior oil ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Key to those exports is a pipeline running through Türkiye halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled Ankara violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent. Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details. Foreign energy companies have demanded clarification on repayment of debts accumulated between 2022 and 2023 and have and have sought contract guarantees, according to Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials.
