KRG says it will not succumb to any pressure from Baghdad

Shafaq News / The Kurdistan Regional Government stressed on Wednesday that it will not lean to any pressure from the Federal Government.

This came in an official statement following KRG's session held today to discuss a number of files, including the Baghdad-Erbil relations.

After many rounds of talks, the Kurdistan Region was forced to hand over 250,000 oil barrels per day, to SOMO, in addition to its oil revenues to Baghdad.

On February 15, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court decreed that the natural resource law passed by the Kurdistan Regional Government in 2007 is unconstitutional, potentially upending the region's oil and gas industry.

Ruling that KRG oil exports and contracts with international oil companies are illegal, the court granted the federal government the right to annul such contracts, claim ownership of KRG oil, and hold Erbil liable for past oil revenues against budget allocations received from Baghdad.

In addition to undermining the KRG's energy industry, the ruling could limit federal Iraq’s too—indeed, the very concept of oil federalism is at risk. The decision also complicates the ongoing government formation process, and may even invite backlash against a judiciary that has maintained widespread respect

among Iraqis.