Russian companies fail to agree on terms for oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan

The Iraqi authorities have offered foreign oil companies operating in Kurdistan, including Russian ones, to renegotiate the contract at $16 per barrel. Daban Shadala, deputy minister of external relations of the Iraqi Kurdistan government, told Izvestia.

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"This is a technical issue. We have reached an agreement with the central government to recognize agreements with oil and gas companies and oil exports," he told, noting that the key problem is related to the value that the companies will receive.

The Iraqi government is offering $16 per barrel, while the companies are demanding $22 to cover production costs, the regional representative emphasized.

According to Daban Shadal, the political and legal settlement has already taken place: in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution, the state company SOMO will be in charge of oil exports - it will be involved in the sale of oil produced on Kurdish territory.

Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev earlier in an interview with "Izvestia" explained that the work in the Kurdish oil sector returns under the wing of federal legislation, now it is necessary to renegotiate contracts with all working foreign companies, until now they were signed in the framework of production sharing agreements.

Read more in Izvestia's exclusive article:

Barrel of stumbling block: Iraq disputes over the price of oil exports by Russian companies