Iraqi Oil Minister says ready to talk with KRG, settle issues

Luaibi is at an energy conference in the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates where he spoke early Tuesday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi on Tuesday said he was “ready for dialogue” with the Kurdistan Region to settle outstanding oil issues.

Luaibi is at an energy conference in the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates where he spoke early Tuesday. The CNBC Arabia did not provide details regarding which issues he would be looking to resolve.

At the same time, the Kurdistan Region is moving forward with its historic referendum on independence scheduled for Sep. 25.

Kurdish officials have repeatedly stated the Region has sincerely tried to stay with Iraq and operate as a real partner, but now, “there is nothing left to connect the Region with Baghdad.”

Oil-rich Kirkuk, which is claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil is set to take part in the Region’s upcoming vote on independence and will decide whether to remain a part of Iraq or join an independent Kurdish state. 

Two of the province’s oil fields are under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and three are run by Iraq’s North Oil Company (NOC).

Luaibi visited Tehran in July, and according to his Iranian counterpart, Bijan Zanganeh, the two countries concluded agreements to construct pipelines to export crude oil from the hotly disputed, oil-rich province of Kirkuk to Iran.

The mixed province of Kirkuk has been under the administration of the KRG since 2014 after Iraqi forces failed to protect the area from the Islamic State (IS) and were pushed out.

Peshmerga forces drove the extremist group out and have since been protecting the area from the threat of IS.

Most recently, the Iraqi Parliament voted to sack the Kurdish Governor of Kirkuk for his decision to join the referendum and allow the vote to be held in the disputed province.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi have on many occasions stated the door for negotiations and dialogue would never be closed between Erbil and Baghdad to resolve their disputes peacefully.

In the aftermath of the war against IS, both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq are relying on increased oil exports and a price of USD 55 – 60 a barrel to recover and rebuild the region.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany