Oil companies expressed to continue their support for Iraqi Kurdistan: In London on Thursday, at a major Kurdistan oil and gas conference, senior government representatives and companies pledged their continued support and partnership with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as they face economic and security challenges. Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani sent a message to the conference, which was read by the former UK ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock. The Prime Minister conveyed that the Kurdistan Region faces three enormous challenges: The threat of Islamic State, which is being repelled by the Peshmerga; the influx of 1.25 million IDPs, in addition to close to a million Syrian refugees; and the budget embargo that was made by the previous government in Baghdad in January 2014. Following the recent agreement with Iraq on 250,000 barrels per day of oil export by the KRG via SOMO in exchange for a budget payment, Barzani hoped that Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has set a new era of relations with Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Region’s relationship with Turk ey is very solid and strategic, the prime minister said, adding that the KRG will improve relations with its Eastern neighbor Iran. He also acknowledged the oil companies for trusting in the Kurdistan Region and for paving the way for its brighter future. Ashti Hawrami, the Minister for Natural Resources, said that from 2015 the KRG would be a net contributor to the Iraqi budget. He said, “We will work hand in hand with the Iraqi government in 2015 to make the budget successful.” Minister Hawrami said that stage one of the agreement with Baghdad is not only the oil export but also for the KRG to upgrade the infrastructure for stranded oil in Kirkuk. He said, “I believe we have a real chance of the new chapter with Iraq succeeding.” The second stage of negotiations have yet to take place, which are on the right to export oil, the right to the full 17% share of the budget, revenue sharing, settling the dues owed to the KRG, and removing the threat of budget cuts. The natural resources minister said that for the KRG, however, the right to export oil is a red line because it is a Constitutional right. The collapse of the oil price is a fourth new challenge, Minister Hawrami said, but he expects it to stabilize in the mid to long term. emac-advertising/?p=4908
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 09:43:22 +0000
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