عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq’s Kurdistan Works to Establish Two Oil Firms as Erbil-Baghdad Tensions Rise

A picture shows a view of the area around the citadel of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, as dust engulfs the sector on May 24, 2022. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the area around the citadel of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, as dust engulfs the sector on May 24, 2022. (AFP)
TT
TT

Iraq’s Kurdistan Works to Establish Two Oil Firms as Erbil-Baghdad Tensions Rise

A picture shows a view of the area around the citadel of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, as dust engulfs the sector on May 24, 2022. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the area around the citadel of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, as dust engulfs the sector on May 24, 2022. (AFP)

Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is working to establish two oil firms, the latest move in the battle between Erbil and Baghdad to control the oil sector in the semi-autonomous region.

The KRG's new oil firm KROC would specialize in oil exploration, while the second - KOMO - would focus on oil exports and marketing from the semi-autonomous region, a spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

The regional government has presented the idea and discussed it with the federal government in Baghdad recently, the KRG spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement follows months of disputes between Erbil and Baghdad after a February federal court ruling that deemed the legal foundations of the Kurdistan region's oil and gas sector unconstitutional.

The oil ministry in Baghdad has since made fresh attempts to control revenue from the Kurdistan region, including summoning seven firms operating there to a commercial court on May 19. The firms were Addax, DNO, Genel, Gulf Keystone, HKN, Shamaran and WesternZagros.

The commercial court sitting has been postponed twice as some of the representation for these international oil firms did not have power of attorney, several sources told Reuters. The court session is due to resume on Monday, June 20.

As well as announcing plans to establish its own oil company in the Kurdistan region, the Iraqi oil ministry has ordered international lead contractors and subcontractors through Basrah Oil (BOC) and Iraq's national oil firm (Inoc) to pledge not to work on contracts or projects there.

Through letters sent on June 7 and 12, the firms were given three months to terminate existing contracts or projects in the KRG oil sector or face being blacklisted, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The oil ministry is using two law firms - Vincent and Elkins and Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton - to help with gaining control of the KRG oil sector, according to two sources. Both firms have declined to comment.

The KRG has repeatedly rejected the federal court ruling. On June 5, the KRG's ministry of natural resources filed a civil suit against the minister of oil in Baghdad, Ihsan Ismael, for sending emails and letters to intimidate oil firms operating in the Kurdistan region and for interfering with the contractual rights of these firms and the KRG, according to a June 13 statement.

Also on June 5, the Erbil court of investigation ruled that the commercial court sessions against international oil firms must be brought to the Erbil court.

There have been years of attempts by the federal government to bring KRG revenues under its control, including local court rulings and threats of international arbitration.

The implications of the latest dispute are not fully clear as more than eight months since elections in Iraq, the formation of a government is still underway.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Kill Man in Raid on Village

A damaged car in the Wadi Al-Lubban Al-Shamali area, south of Nablus, 06 April 2026. Israeli settlers burned a house, two tents, and three vehicles, and assaulted Palestinians in the town of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya earlier in the day. (EPA)
A damaged car in the Wadi Al-Lubban Al-Shamali area, south of Nablus, 06 April 2026. Israeli settlers burned a house, two tents, and three vehicles, and assaulted Palestinians in the town of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya earlier in the day. (EPA)
TT
TT

Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Kill Man in Raid on Village

A damaged car in the Wadi Al-Lubban Al-Shamali area, south of Nablus, 06 April 2026. Israeli settlers burned a house, two tents, and three vehicles, and assaulted Palestinians in the town of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya earlier in the day. (EPA)
A damaged car in the Wadi Al-Lubban Al-Shamali area, south of Nablus, 06 April 2026. Israeli settlers burned a house, two tents, and three vehicles, and assaulted Palestinians in the town of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya earlier in the day. (EPA)

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Saturday, in the latest deadly attack on the occupied territory.

Ali Majed Hamadneh, 23, died after settlers opened fire during a raid on the village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah, the ministry said.

"He was brought to the Palestine Medical Complex in a critical condition" and later succumbed to his wounds, the ministry said on Telegram.

Palestinian official news agency Wafa also reported the incident.

"Armed colonists, under the protection of Israeli forces, attacked Deir Jarir from its western entrance and opened fire toward residents in the area," Wafa reported.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli police or military.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

There has also been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Iran war on February 28, Palestinian authorities and the United Nations have said.

Prior to Saturday's attack, at least six Palestinians were killed since then in settler attacks, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

Settler assaults on Palestinians have persisted for years, often to the indifference of mainstream Israeli society.

But the recent surge has prompted criticism from influential rabbis, settler leaders, and even Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who called the attacks "morally and ethically unacceptable".

Arab World

Iraqi Parliament Elects Nizar Amedi as Country’s New President

The entrance of the Iraqi parliament building during a parliamentary session in Baghdad, Iraq, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
The entrance of the Iraqi parliament building during a parliamentary session in Baghdad, Iraq, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iraqi Parliament Elects Nizar Amedi as Country’s New President

The entrance of the Iraqi parliament building during a parliamentary session in Baghdad, Iraq, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)
The entrance of the Iraqi parliament building during a parliamentary session in Baghdad, Iraq, April 11, 2026. (Reuters)

The Iraqi parliament on Saturday elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country's new president, a largely ceremonial role, following a parliamentary election last November.

Amedi, 58, is a former environment minister and has headed the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Baghdad since 2024.

Iraq is now ‌due to ‌choose a prime minister, ‌a closely-watched ⁠and sensitive pick.

US ⁠President Donald Trump threatened in January to withdraw Washington's support for Iraq, a major oil producer, if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was designated to form a cabinet.

The pro-Iran Coordination Framework coalition that holds a parliamentary majority has ‌nominated Iran-backed Maliki, alarming Washington, which along ‌with Israel waged a six-week war with ‌Iran until a ceasefire was announced on Tuesday.

Senior US and Iranian officials were meeting in Islamabad on Saturday in ‌the highest-level talks between Washington and Tehran in half a century ⁠in ⁠an effort to end the war.

In Iraq, which has long trodden a tightrope between Iran and the US, its closest allies, the prime minister wields significant power.

Under Iraq's sectarian power-sharing system, the prime minister must be a Shiite, the parliamentary speaker a Sunni, and the president a Kurd.

Arab World

Syria Says Busts Hezbollah-Linked Cell Planning Attack on ‘Religious Figure’

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 8, 2025, shows Syrian forces manning a checkpoint in the coastal city of Latakia. (SANA/AFP)
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 8, 2025, shows Syrian forces manning a checkpoint in the coastal city of Latakia. (SANA/AFP)
TT
TT

Syria Says Busts Hezbollah-Linked Cell Planning Attack on ‘Religious Figure’

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 8, 2025, shows Syrian forces manning a checkpoint in the coastal city of Latakia. (SANA/AFP)
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 8, 2025, shows Syrian forces manning a checkpoint in the coastal city of Latakia. (SANA/AFP)

Syria's interior ministry said Saturday that five people had been arrested over a plot to attack an unidentified religious figure in Damascus, alleging the cell was linked to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

In a statement, the ministry said security forces observed a woman as she attempted to "plant an explosive device in front of the house of a religious figure" near a church in Damascus's Bab Touma area.

Security forces intervened and dismantled the device, arresting all five members of the cell, the statement said.

"Preliminary investigations revealed the cell's link to Lebanon's Hezbollah, and that its members received specialized military training abroad," the statement added.

Since March 2, Hezbollah has been battling Israel after drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

The group played a key role in Syria's civil war, fighting alongside the forces of now ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.

Under Assad, Syria was part of Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah.

Syria's new authorities have rejected Iranian influence and are hostile to the Lebanese group and its sponsor.

In February, Syria said it had dismantled a cell responsible for recent attacks targeting Damascus's Mazzeh district, saying the weapons came from Hezbollah, which denied any involvement.