The Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Monday that it lacks any information regarding the debts of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to oil companies in the Kurdistan Region.
According to the Ministry’s statement, the KRG owes billions of dollars to oil companies, but the Iraqi government does not possess any information or details regarding these debts.
The statement from the Oil Ministry is in response to a report by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) which said that the annual revenue of international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region has decreased by 60 percent and that the KRG owes $1 billion to these companies.
The ministry said that the KRG and oil companies have not yet provided copies of their oil production contracts to the ministry for discussion and the formulation of new contracts in accordance with the constitution and legal requirements.
“The Iraqi government did not make the decision to suspend oil exports,” it said, adding that “after discussions and negotiations, Iraq and Turkey reached an agreement to resume oil exports and address technical issues promptly”.
As per the statement, the Iraqi government is the party most impacted by the suspension of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.
“The primary cause for the suspension of oil exports is the failure of foreign oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region to officially hand over their products to the KRG,” it said.
“Once these companies comply with legal requirements and transfer the products from their oil fields, oil exports will swiftly resume,” it emphasized.
The Oil Ministry declared its refusal to adhere to the condition of the oil companies in the Kurdistan Region, calling these conditions illegal.
It urged the oil companies to uphold Iraqi sovereignty and abide by the laws and rulings of the Iraqi court.
