Kirkuk’s oil – How big loss is it going to be for Iraq?

The political turmoil of Iraq is getting more complicated, following the event when Mosul fell into the hands of some parties beyond the government’s control, thus leading the Iraqi army to withdraw from Kirkuk and the peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take over — the KRG announced that Kirkuk, which used to be a disputed area between it and the cen

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Platts: Kurds have oil obstacles to face. By Daniel J. Graeber

HOUSTON, July 2 (UPI) --HOUSTON, July 2 (UPI) --A lack of infrastructure in the Kurdish north of Iraq could be an inhibiting factor in the region's oil development, analysis from Platts finds. Platts Oilgram News reports the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government is engaged in a "war of words" with Baghdad over jurisdiction of oil in the country. KRG oil sent from the T

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Where will the Independent KRG’s Oil Export Lead to? By Munir Chalabi*

Download PDF 1- Preface As from January 2014, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has begun to export crude oil directly to world oil markets through a new pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan from oil fields under its control. Dispatched without the approval of Iraq’s central government, with the first shipment put up for sale before the end of January 2014. With the

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Iraq’s budget problems go beyond Erbil-Baghdad crisis. By Harith Hasan

The Iraqi parliament still has not been able to approve the draft general budget for 2014, prompting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to warn of the possibility of a major financial crisis and a disruption of state institutions. As the conflict continues between Baghdad and Erbil regarding Iraqi Kurdistan's share in the state budget, there is a pressing need for the government t

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