KRG delegation will return to Baghdad to continue energy talks in 'coming days' 

Meeting between the KRG negotiating delegation and representatives from the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad, Apr. 11, 2022 (Photo: Government of Iraq)
Meeting between the KRG negotiating delegation and representatives from the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad, Apr. 11, 2022 (Photo: Government of Iraq)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation will visit Iraq's capital Baghdad in the "coming days" to continue oil and gas talks with the central government, a Kurdish media official said on Tuesday. 

"The Kurdistan Regional Government will meet the Iraqi Oil Ministry and other Iraqi officials once again in coming days to discuss the KRG oil and gas sector," Lawk Ghafuri, head of the KRG's Foreign Media Relations, tweeted on Tuesday. "The negotiation will be ongoing until Erbil and Baghdad reach a concrete agreement regarding this outstanding issue." 

A Kurdish delegation met with the Iraqi Minister of Oil Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar and other relevant authorities in Baghdad on Monday for the first time since the country's Federal Supreme Court (FSC) contentiously ruled against the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas sector. 

The officials discussed a number of proposals made by the Iraqi authorities to reach an agreement on Kurdish oil and gas. One proposal was to establish a national company managed by Baghdad to oversee all the contracts the KRG signed with local and international oil companies, Abdul-Jabbar announced on Monday.

Under the FSC ruling, the Kurdish oil and gas deals are "unconstitutional" and must be brought under Baghdad's authority. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has firmly rejected the decision and described it as "unconstitutional" and "politically motivated". 

Despite strong objections to the decision, Barzani has expressed the Kurdistan Region's willingness to resolve all the existing issues with Baghdad constitutionally.