BAGHDAD: Iraq has told ExxonMobil it must choose between working in its southern oil fields or in Kurdistan, and Baghdad expects the US oil major to make a final decision in a few days, its oil minister said yesterday.
“We made it clear to Exxon in the last meeting that the answer we expected from them is either to work in the Kurdistan region or to work in southern Iraq,” Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said. “Exxon Mobil cannot work in both fields at the same time.”
Exxon was the first major oil company to sign agreements with the government of the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north, a move that increased tensions between Baghdad and the Kurds in a long-running dispute over oil, territory and political autonomy.
Baghdad says any deals signed with Kurdistan are illegal, but the government of Kurdistan says the constitution allows it to sign oil deals without permission from Baghdad.
Reuters
