Senior Iraqi Oil Expert Mr Tariq Shafiq* commenting on the Iraq Finance Minister, Mr Hoshyar Zebari’s statements on the unpublished Agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi National Government

My views and conclusion are summarised below: The KRG will receive: 17% (“Ayad Alawi’s” gift, not the Parliament’s, regardless of their true population percentage) + a payment amounting to 17% of the sovereign expenses which is their legal budget obligation + a payment amounting to the net income of the open unspecified or defined oil production for internal consumption (which

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Baghdad-Erbil deal silent on KRG’s surplus oil. By Mohammed A. Salih *

ERBIL, Iraq — The new oil agreement between Iraq’s federal government and the autonomous Kurdish government in the north appears to have left some room for confusion as to what the Kurds should do with the significant amount of oil that they do not export under Baghdad’s supervision. According to the deal signed on Dec. 2, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pledges to exp

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The Geopolitical Impact of Cheap Oil. By Martin Feldstein *

CAMBRIDGE – The price of oil has fallen more than 25% in the past five months, to less than $80 a barrel. If the price remains at this level, it will have important implications – some good, some bad – for many countries around the world. If it falls further, as seems likely, the geopolitical consequences on some oil-producing countries could be dramatic. The price of oil at a

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Saudi Arabia Won’t Win This Oil-Price Standoff. By SHANE FERRO & GUS LUBIN

There's a standoff happening between the old oil powers and the booming US shale industry, as the OPEC oil cartel is thought to be pushing down prices to drive new production offline. But the investment bank Citi says it's not a fight that OPEC leader Saudi Arabia is going to win. Although no one is sure what is causing the plunge in oil prices from above $105 a barrel this s

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