UAE-based Dana Gas has launched arbitration proceedings against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as a simmering dispute between the two sides comes to a head. The KRG has hit back, accusing Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, its biggest shareholder, of breach of contract on several levels.
Some see the escalation as an effort by the KRG to squeeze out smaller players and bring in the big multinationals. Nevertheless, the outcome of the case is certain to be watched keenly by the dozens of foreign oil company executives who were given the red carpet treatment by Irbil, when it opened to upstream investors in 2007. (CONTINUED - 1763 WORDS)
