KRG: We are bound by the oil and gas law, contracts with international companies

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday announced that it would continue to implement its oil and gas law, despite the recent Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ruling against it. 

"The Federal Court's decision tried to target the constitution because justifying its articles is not within its jurisdiction," Jutyar Adil, the KRG spokesperson, told a press conference.

"We are bound to the oil and gas law of the region and the contracts that we concluded with companies and buyers because we have legal and financial obligations," he said. 

"We are not in a solid financial position, as the federal government does not send the region's financial entitlement to pay public sector salaries and yet attempts to prevent oil and gas export from the region," he added.

"We are ready to negotiate in order to reach a solution to this issue in accordance with the constitution and the true partnership that, unfortunately, has not been achieved."

On Feb. 15, the Federal Court ruled that the oil and gas law of the Kurdistan Regional Government was unconstitutional.

The KRG considered the ruling unconstitutional, stressing that it cannot be accepted.

In a Feb. 28 meeting, the autonomous region's four presidents issued six points in response to the FSC ruling.

Read More: Kurdistan Region issues six points on top Iraqi court ruling on oil and gas law