Business | Oil & Gas
No deal on Kurdish contracts, says Iraq minister
Iraq's central government has not reached a deal with the Kurdish regional authorities to recognise contracts the Kurds signed with foreign oil companies, a senior Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 14:00 April 16, 2008
Baghdad: Iraq's central government has not reached a deal with the Kurdish regional authorities to recognise contracts the Kurds signed with foreign oil companies, a senior Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday.
"The Iraqi Oil Ministry considers the contracts signed by the Kurdish regional authorities as illegal and void," the senior official said.
Unconfirmed reports of such a deal had caused share prices in Norwegian oil firm DNO to soar.
The official said the Kurdish contracts remained the main stumbling block to agreeing a draft national oil law that will open up the country's energy sector to foreign investment.
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