On December 1 and 2, the federal Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) conducted three rounds of negotiations in Baghdad over the sharing of oil revenues in the 2015 budget. The talks marked the culmination of three months of intensifying discussion between federal and Kurdish leaders, which followed more than a year of U.S.-supported discussions between the
Read More
The recent Baghdad-Erbil oil deal has inspired optimism, but it avoids key details at the heart of big issues – control of territory and oil rights – on which neither side wants to compromise Leaders in Baghdad and Erbil are still far away from achieving a long-lasting resolution to Iraq's oil policy disputes, even though the tides of optimism have swelled in the past few week
Read More
The Kurds may be leveraging recent arms agreements to achieve a more direct security relationship with Western powers on the road toward de facto autonomy. When US defence officials want to give a compliment to a junior military partner they will often use the phrase "Little Sparta", referring to the ancient Greek city state revered for its small but potent army. Most recently
Read More
Crude from Bai Hassan and Avana dome, fields formerly operated by federal authorities, is now flowing by pipeline to Turkey for KRG export. ERBIL - Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is now exporting oil from fields it recently seized from federal authorities - a step that takes Kurdistan much closer to economic independence and farther away from political r
Read More
For the two families that govern the Kurdistan Region of Iraq — the Barzanis and Talabanis — the Islamic State’s rampage across Iraq this past summer represented an unprecedented opportunity. Taking advantage of the Iraqi army’s complete collapse, the Kurds captured the oil-rich area around Kirkuk on June 11. Soon after taking Kirkuk, President Masoud Barzani called for a refe
Read More