A ship containing roughly one million barrels of crude oil from Iraq’s Kurdistan region is in a state of limbo off the coast of the United States, as its entry is prohibited due to a lawsuit filed by Iraq’s central government. According toAl Jazeera, Baghdad has filed a lawsuit in Texas claiming the oil – which was sold by northern Iraq’s Kurdish region without the permission of the central government – and insisting that it is the only authority in Iraq capable of selling the country’s resources. Although US District Judge Nancy K. Johnson has ordered the seizure of the $100 million shipment, she also said that unless the tanker enters the territorial waters of the US it’s out of American jurisdiction. As the Associated Press noted, if the ship moves closer, a US Marshal has been ordered to confiscate the cargo. As Iraq continues to face violence and turmoil due to the advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the relatively stable Kurdistan region has used the moment take control of areas in Kirkuk that are flush with oil. The Kurds have long wished for independence from Iraq, and in May sold 1.05 million barrels of oil to Turkey, keeping the profits for themselves and triggering criticism from the central government. Back in June, an attempt by Iraq’s central government to make Kurdish oil sales illegal was shot down by the country’s Supreme Court. If the ship moves closer, a US Marshal has been ordered to confiscate the $100 million shipment.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 17:59:50 +0000
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