Iraqi oil minister to visit Moscow, discuss Rosneft's Kurdistan contracts

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi is expected to visit Moscow soon to meet with Russia's Energy Minister regarding contracts signed between major oil firm Rosneft and the Kurdistan Region, Iraq’s Ambassador in Moscow said on Sunday.

In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Iraqi Ambassador Haidar Mansour Hadi said Luaibi and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak would discuss contracts signed last year between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and oil giant Rosneft.

According to Hadi, both Moscow and Baghdad “maintain a regular dialogue on the issue,” adding that both sides are engaged in discussions to resolve the matter.

Rosneft’s first vice-president Pavel Fyodorov told the Financial Times in December that the oil firm would proceed with its projects in the Kurdistan Region, expressing excitement about the economic prospects despite Iraq’s attempts to cut the Kurdish economy from the world.

“In terms of [Kurdistan], we are obviously moving forward on the projects, and we are actually quite excited about that opportunity,” Fyodorov stated. “It is a manifold opportunity that has infrastructure and production components to it.”

The Russian state-owned company signed the major contracts with the KRG to develop five oil blocks in October 2017, not long after the Kurdistan Region’s Sep. 25 independence referendum was held which resulted in increased tensions between Erbil and Baghdad.

Despite escalating tensions in the region, both Rosneft and Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed their commitment to investing in Kurdistan, claiming they saw “no roadblocks” to strengthening ties.

“Our companies, especially Rosneft, are working in the [Kurdistan Region],” the Russian President said during his annual end-of-year press conference. “We believe this will benefit Iraq, Kurdistan, and, in particular, it benefits the Russian economy.”

In December, Novak announced on Twitter that the Iraqi government had “no objections regarding operations by Russian oil companies” in the Kurdistan Region.

Kirkuk, an oil-rich city long disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, was included in the independence vote but then fell to Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias who attacked the multi-ethnic city and took over the high-production oil fields.

Putin has been firm that his country would not “interfere” in the disputes between Erbil and Baghdad but stressed that all the issues have to be resolved “within the framework of the Iraqi Constitution, away from violence.”