The Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) this week hit back at claims from Baghdad that the region’s production sharing contracts (PSCs) with international oil firms are unconstitutional. Baghdad says its concerns over the PSCs are a key reason for the continued shut-in of the Kurdistan export pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. But the IOCs and the MNR dispute this.
The 22 April statement followed Turkish President Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq (see p10) where the potential resumption of oil exports was absent from official statements and media coverage. Until then, the MNR had largely kept quiet in public on the issue, on which it has little leverage. (CONTINUED - 1240 WORDS)
