PM Barzani reassures oil companies working in Kurdistan Region 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has reassured oil companies that work in the autonomous region that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is fully committed to all its contracts with them. 

"We are committed to the contracts we have with the oil companies working in Kurdistan Region, including those that are here or those that buy our oil," Barzani told a press conference in Erbil on Thursday.

At that conference, the prime minister also laid out his government's stance on the recent Iraqi Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ruling on the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas sector and the issue of impartial implementation of the constitution. 

"The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is committed to its constitutional rights. It is committed to the existing laws in Kurdistan Region, including the Oil and Gas Law," he said. 

In mid-February, the court ruled that the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas law, under which the authorities of the autonomous region signed contracts with the energy companies, is unconstitutional. The federal court also asked for a revision of those contracts. 

Before laying out his concerns regarding the court's ruling, Barzani told attendees that he had carefully reviewed the Iraqi Constitution's Kurdish, Arabic, and English versions. 

Backed by the constitution's relevant articles, he said that the Kurdistan Region has acted under its rights enshrined in the document. 

The prime minister also called the current supreme court "unconstitutional" since it wasn't formed in accordance with Article 92 (2) of the constitution, which calls for the enactment of a law by two-thirds of the parliament for regulating its affairs. 

Kurdistan Region PM Masrour Barzani is holding a press conference in Erbil to address the latest Iraqi Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ruling on the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) oil and gas sector.

📸Kurdistan 24 pic.twitter.com/ITOgUPEewa

— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) March 3, 2022

"No court has the jurisdiction to rewrite a constitutional article," the Kurdish leader said, reiterating that any amendment to the document should be based on procedures set by the constitution. 

The court's ruling "is a political decision and is not in the interest of Iraqi people at all," Barzani said, adding he had previously requested the Iraqi authorities to give them some time to reach an agreement based on the constitution. 

The FSC decision is based on a law enacted in 1976 that's still in use, along with the law about the Arabization of the disputed territories. 

Despite all the efforts made in 2007 to enact an oil and gas law for Iraq, the government at the time did not allow its passage, Barzani added. 

"The new Council of Representatives must also enact a law for the federal supreme court, and establish a second chamber of the Iraqi Parliament – both stipulated in the Constitution," Barzani said.

He also highlighted unimplemented articles of the constitution that call for compensating the Kurdish people for the genocides and atrocities they have suffered at the hands of former Iraqi regimes. 

According to the latest deal between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region was supposed to receive 200 billion Iraqi dinars ($137 million) per month from the federal government after deductions. In the past 26 months, Baghdad has only sent 12-months worth of the Kurdistan Region's financial entitlements, according to Barzani. 

Moreover, the federal government hasn't received any money since the beginning of 2022. 

"We are not beggars to go and knock on Baghdad's door every month," Barzani said, calling on the federal government to give the people of the Kurdistan Region their constitutional rights. 

In his speech, which lasted over an hour, Barzani said disinformation is being spread across Iraq that accuses the Kurdistan Region of taking advantage of Iraq's revenues. 

According to the prime minister, the Kurdistan Region has only received five percent of Iraq's budget in the past. 

"What did they [Iraqi government] do with it? Where are their hospitals, schools, streets, and projects?" Barzani asked. 

He also said that he had discussed the FSC's ruling with Iraqi officials. 

"I asked them, in the absence of oil revenues for the Kurdistan Region, 'does the Iraqi government commit itself to paying the region's financial entitlements?' They said 'no. We do not have that money,'" Barzani said, adding they were not able even to export the oil since Iraq does not have the technical capabilities to do so. 

KRG ninth cabinet reforms, oil revenues

Despite the issues the Kurdistan Region has faced, the KRG's ninth cabinet has been able to initiate reforms across all sectors. 

The prime minister said seven percent of the Kurdistan Region's oil revenues is for paying the debts it owes that Erbil incurred after Baghdad cut the autonomous region's budget. 

I feel it is important to make clear our position regarding the recent ruling by the so-called Federal Supreme Court. This blatant political move by an unconstitutional court is a gross violation of the Iraqi Constitution designed to cause us serious economic and political harm. pic.twitter.com/dzOcDzhhWf

— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) March 3, 2022

The Kurdistan Region uses 41 percent of the revenues to pay salaries. This is a significant increase from the 25-28 percent the KRG spent on salaries in the past, thanks to the ninth cabinet's reforms in the oil sector, according to Barzani.

Another 48 percent of the revenues go to the oil companies, while nine percent is for transportation fees, Barzani said. 

The government's expenditure for salaries is $600 million while it has other costs for projects and debts, he added. 

PM Barzani addresses the Iraqi people 

"I want to send a message to our sisters and brothers in Iraq: Kurdistan is your friend," Barzani said, reiterating that the autonomous region seeks peaceful relations with all components of Iraq, particularly the Arab-majority. 

He recalled the Kurdistan Region has opened its doors for all the people in need during difficult times, including the officials who are in power in Baghdad today. 

"Kurdistan has embraced them at times when the rest of the country was closed to them," he said, adding the Kurdistan Region is still ready to do whatever it can to serve the Iraqi people from Basra to Zakho. 

Since the ISIS war began, the Kurdistan Region has hosted nearly a million internally displaced people and refugees. 

"We do not have any problems with our Arab sisters and brothers or any other component of Iraq," Barzani said before calling on them to defend the constitutional rights of all the people, including the people of the Kurdistan Region.