The Iraqi parliament has failed to pass an oil and gas law for nearly 20 years.

Since 2006, the draft law has been prepared four times but never placed on the agenda of the Iraqi Parliament due to political disagreements.

The main dispute between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government centers on authority over oil and gas production and the management of joint fields.

The Iraqi constitution addresses oil and gas in two provisions. Article 111 states that

oil and gas are the property of all the Iraqi people in all regions and governorates

Article 112 stipulates that the federal government, in coordination with regional authorities and producing provinces, shall oversee the management of oil and gas and set policies for resource development.

Despite the constitution granting Baghdad oversight of oil management, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began selling crude independently from its fields in 2012, calling it part of an “independent economy.”

On March 25, 2023, following a ruling by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Court, oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkey’s port of Ceyhan were suspended.

On August 11, 2025, Baghdad and Erbil signed a 10-point, 25-clause oil export agreement, but the deal has yet to be implemented.