At a Glance

• KRG rejects the unilateral transfer of Khor Mor natural gas to Iraq by UAE firms.
• Contract breach occurred as operators ignored domestic gas supply requests.
• Legal action is currently being evaluated by the government to protect KRG rights.

The caretaker Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemned the “unilateral” transfer of natural gas from the Khor Mor field to Iraq by Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas, expressing “disappointment” as the companies ignored repeated requests for domestic gas supplies.

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Key Statements and Focus Areas

• “The KRG neither approved nor authorized this action, and any suggestion that it endorsed or supported the operators' unilateral decision is inaccurate and misleading,” the KRG said.
• The KRG received this notification at the exact same time as the companies' public announcement.
• The statement underlined that government has never opposed the supply of gas or electricity to any part of Iraq.

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The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a joint statement on Thursday, affirming that the government was only informed of the energy companies’ decision on Tuesday.

The KRG stressed that it “has always been committed to strengthening the energy security of both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” adding that it invested heavily in energy infrastructure to serve all Iraqis.

The statement rejected any opposition to supplying gas to Iraq, calling instead for arrangements that are “undertaken in full compliance with the governing contractual framework and with the approval of the KRG as the contracting authority.”

The “unilateral decision” by the operators to supply gas without approval breaches their contract and interferes with Erbil-Baghdad relations. This unauthorized action, the statement emphasized, undermines the recent progress made by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government in strengthening energy cooperation.

“The operators' actions are particularly disappointing because the KRG has repeatedly requested additional gas supplies for facilities that had more demand for gas supplies and in which KRG has invested substantial public resources,” the statement added.

The government stated that the bypassed facilities were developed to expand electricity generation for both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, adding that instead of cooperating on these shared energy goals, the operators chose to act unilaterally.

The KRG rejected the operators' statement thanking the government for supporting the gas supplies.

The government is currently evaluating legal and operational options to protect its rights, uphold contractual integrity, and safeguard Kurdistan Region energy interests.

The statement further underlined that the KRG remains committed to working with Baghdad to boost gas and electricity production through mutually agreed, legally compliant arrangements.

FYI

Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas are United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based energy corporations operating together as the primary private-sector upstream gas developers in the Kurdistan Region.

They commenced pipeline natural gas deliveries from the Khor Mor field to the Kirkuk Taza power station on Tuesday under a one-year agreement.

The consortium will supply 100 million standard cubic feet per day to support federal electricity generation, marking a major operational expansion beyond the Kurdistan Region's borders.

This cross-border supply was enabled by the October 2025 completion of the KM250 expansion project, which raised total processing capacity at Khor Mor to 750 MMscf/d.

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