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KurdistanObserver.com
KRG Says The Iraqi Minister Has No Right To Question The
Legitimacy Of Oil Contracts
DUBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The government of Iraq's Kurdish region on Tuesday
defended an oil and gas production contract it has concluded with a U.S.
company, rejecting remarks by the country's oil minister who questioned its
legality.
The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Saturday it had
signed the production sharing contract with a unit of U.S.-based Hunt Oil Co.
and with Impulse Energy Corp.
Media reports have quoted Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani as saying
that the deal "has no standing" because it was not approved by the central
government in Baghdad.
"Shahristani's recent remarks about the legality of the KRG's contracts are
totally unacceptable..." said Khaled Salih, spokesman of the Kurdistan regional
government, in a statement made available to Reuters.
"His (Shahristani) views are totally irrelevant to what we are doing legally and
constitutionally in Kurdistan."
The deal is the first such contract since the region passed its own oil law in
August, while Iraq's parliament failed to pass a national law after months of
negotiations.
The national law is crucial to regulating how wealth from Iraq's oil reserves,
the world's third largest, will be shared out among its sectarian and ethnic
groups. The reserves are mainly in the north and the south of the country.
"What right does Shahristani have to question the legitimacy of contracts
awarded by KRG acting under the powers of the newly enacted law passed by the
unanimous decision of the Regional Parliament and according to the new Iraq
constitution?" the statement said.
The deal covers exploration activity in the Dihok area. Hunt Oil Co. of the
Kurdistan Region will begin geological survey and seismic work by the end of
2007 and has plans to drill an exploration well in 2008.
The regional government has signed five production sharing agreements earlier
with foreign companies.
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