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The oil dispute puts Baghdad in front of “big” legal problems.. Billions of compensation for Erbil (details)


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Minister of Oil: There is no official notification from the region yet, and we will proceed with all procedures to implement the decision of the Federal Court

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Baghdad / NINA / Prepared by.. Youssef Salman: Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail reiterated the implementation of the Federal Court's decision regarding contracts for companies operating in the Kurdistan region, stressing the continuation of all legal and constitutional legal procedures that enable us to implement this decision as well as other steps.



Ismail said, in a statement to a group of media outlets, including the National Iraqi News Agency ( NINA ), today, Sunday, that "Iraq is working to increase its oil capabilities, and we have large projects to increase oil production, because Iraq is committed to the decisions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and is committed to the policy of work in it, because producers must They provide oil to all investors."


He added, "We are committed to reaching a peak production of 8 million barrels by the end of the year 2027, and currently we have projects underway in most of the oil fields, especially in the Basra Governorate, as well as infrastructure projects to extend runoff pipelines to the sea."


On the issue of companies operating in the Kurdistan region, the Minister of Oil explained, “We are implementing the decision of the Federal Court, and all the legal and constitutional legal procedures that were able to implement this decision. We will proceed with this step and other steps,” noting, “We believe in federal Iraq, the authorities of the regions and governorates, and the standard administration.” But the principle is to implement the decision of the Federal Court, and more than that is to reach standard methods in managing the entire oil wealth throughout the country.”


And regarding the establishment of two oil companies in the Kurdistan region, the Minister of Oil commented, “We have not seen any official notification so far from the regional government, and if this is done, we will study its proposals and evaluate their conformity with the constitution, law and provisions of the Federal Court’s decision, and the extent to which they comply with the federal authorities and powers, and then it will be We have an official position on it."


Regarding the ceiling of Iraq’s oil production, Abdul-Jabbar said, “We are committed to our share in OPEC and we achieve within 100% of this commitment,” noting that “the export ceiling for all of Iraq for the month of June will be 3 million and 800,000 barrels, and for the month of July it will be 3 million and 850 thousand barrels, And so, in turn, including the production of the Kurdistan region."


Regarding the results of the emergency support system" rel="">support law for food security and development, which was approved by the House of Representatives early this month, Abdul-Jabbar stressed that "the adoption of the law did not meet the costs of oil production, and the Ministry of Oil registered its protest with the Council of Ministers about the law." /finished5
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Minister of Oil: We will go through all legal and constitutional procedures to implement the Federal Court's decision on the contracts of the Kurdistan region

Minister of Oil: We will go through all legal and constitutional procedures to implement the Federal Court's decision on the contracts of the Kurdistan region (ninanews-com.translate.goog)

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Baghdad / NINA / - Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, reiterated his confirmation of the implementation of the Federal Court's decision regarding contracts for companies operating in the Kurdistan region, stressing the continuation of all legal and constitutional legal procedures that enable us to implement this decision, as well as other steps. / End 5
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46 minutes ago, 6ly410 said:

"We are implementing the decision of the Federal Court and all the legal and constitutional legal procedures that were able to implement this decision, and we will proceed with this step and other steps."

He added, "We believe in federal Iraq, the authorities of the regions and provinces, and the standard administration, but the principle is to implement the decision of the Federal Court, and more than that is to reach standard methods in managing the entire oil wealth throughout the country." 


Very Promising!! Now let’s see if they can hold this intention with their actions and get a legal agreement passed as the elusive HCL.

 

Perhaps a legal document in the Kurdish court system as they wait for the Federal system in Baghdad to function. We may be waiting on another election cycle, in whatever form that takes.

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SULAIMANI — Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar said on Sunday (June 19) the Ministry has abided by the Federal Supreme Court’s decision against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s oil contracts.

Jabbar said in a statement the ministry will take the legal and constitutional approaches to implement the decision now and in the future.

He also said the ministry is working to boost oil production in the country to eight million barrels per day.

He said Iraq’s oil exports in June will increase to 3,800,000 barrels per day, and in July it will amount to 3,850,000, which includes the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports.

According to preliminary figures from Iraq’s oil marketing company (SOMO), 101,390,662 barrels of crude oil were sold in April.

(NRT Digital Media)

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Legislation of the oil and gas law now will cut the road to the region

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Written by: Zaid Al-Mohammadawi

 

The backbone and cornerstone of the region’s authority is oil and the money obtained from allegiance outside the authority of the federal government, and thus made them an empire that was able to buy the votes and consciences of many local and international politicians. Therefore, the best way to return the region to Iraq is to control the oil in the region and the opportunity is now very favorable after The latest Federal Court decision.

All indicators now show us that the region’s authority is now living in its most difficult political situation because it is living its last days in extending its influence over oil, and its recent attempts to file a lawsuit against the Minister of Oil or to try to establish oil companies corresponding to the federal companies are miserable attempts that do not benefit it from implementing the Federal Court’s decision It is also classified only as "attempts to buy time" and is betting on the weakness of the leaders from the center and the south to give up their right in return for the Kurds to vote for them.

The second matter pressing on the authority of the region is political, not judicial, technical as the first, which is the fragmentation of the tripartite political alliance, which lost the region its influence and power in Parliament and thus its voice and influence in decision-making.

In all the political statements made by the Minister of Natural Resources of the region or other leaders of the region, they mention that the federal government is constitutionally negligent in not legislating the federal oil and gas law recommended by the constitution in Article (112 - first) and therefore the federal oil and gas law must be legislated for the following reasons :

1 - The best response to the authority of the region and cutting the excuses against them

2 - Doing justice to the oppressed people of the center and the south by letting the oil exported from their land go to others.

3 - It helps the people of the region by distributing oil imports to them, as is the case with the people of the center and the south, and ensuring that their salaries are not interrupted.

4 - Reducing the inflation of some members of the authority in the region, which now feels larger than Iraq.

5 - Inflating the general revenues included in the federal general budget, which are estimated annually at more than ten billion dollars annually, in addition to the resources of border crossings, as well as the funds that it takes from the federal government.

The conclusion is that the latter’s movements fall under the pretext of indifference only, but the matter and the circumstances are taking place contrary to their current, and the local or international judicial decisions will inevitably come with what the Kurdish politicians do not desire.

They are prejudiced. The days of forming the government come, and therefore the Shiite leaders need the votes of the Kurds in forming the government, and therefore they use the oil card in negotiating, but now the issue is very different and that the second party is in its strongest condition and does not need the voice of the regional authority, and therefore, as I said, they are in great weakness and therefore the circumstance must be exploited in Legislation of the oil and gas law to ensure the right of the center and the south.

 

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2 hours ago, Goggles said:

It sounds like the Kurds may be using their "votes" card to get an HCL legislated. 

 

But I'm no expert. You decide. :cheesehead:

 

Is this good?  The Shiite Leaders are promising them the moon to get their vote to be in power.  At first I thought this might be good but if true it is not. Please explain better someone!

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2 hours ago, Laid Back said:

Kurdistan region gives the Oil to the Federal Government and

Federal Government gives 17% of the Budget to Kurdistan Region 

 

Go HCL 

Go profit sharing 

Go purchasing power 

All due respect Laid Back, but where did you see this and was it recent or what they were talking about over a year ago? 

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  • Time: 06/20/2022 20:48:16
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Iraq sends a strongly worded message to foreign oil companies
  
{Economic: Al Furat News} Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar affirmed the ministry's keenness to enhance prospects for cooperation with local and international service companies that support the local extraction sector, due to the importance of this in sustaining and increasing national production.

During his meeting with the Executive Director of (Oil SERV) Sarah Akbar, Abdul-Jabbar stressed the necessity of the oil companies’ commitment to implement their projects and commitments in accordance with the strictest international standards in the oil industry and within the agreed timing schedule, as well as respecting their contracts with the Ministry of Oil, representing the federal government, with the aim of achieving a true partnership. serve common interests," according to a statement by the Ministry of Oil.

For her part, Sarah Akbar, CEO of OIL SERV, praised the ministry's cooperation and support for the work of oil services companies, noting "her company's support for the ministry's projects in the sectors of "well drilling, well maintenance, surveys inside the well, wellhead maintenance, and production maintenance."

Akbar confirmed that her company is implementing many projects inside and outside Iraq.

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Energy expert: Iraq suffers from a legal vacuum over oil and is counting on controversial constitutional articles
  
{Economic: Al Furat News} The energy expert, Kovind Sherwani, pointed out that Iraq is suffering from a legal vacuum regarding oil.
 

Sherwani said; For the program {Al-Mastra} broadcast by Al-Furat satellite channel tonight, that: “The region called for the legislation of the oil and gas law two years ago and it was amended outside the political consensus and it did not pass. Today, Iraq suffers a legal vacuum regarding oil and relies on 6 articles of the constitution, some of which are interpreted differently.”
He added, "The additional percentage of 40 to 50 thousand barrels is referred to the region for the purpose of refining and distributing them as oil derivatives and distributing them in the northern provinces, and the export mechanism from most of the fields linked with the region's oil pipeline that leads to Turkey through the port of Ceyhan, and some fields are not connected and shipped." Via oil trucks.
Sherwani continued, "There are counters to calculate the quantities of oil, sales and revenues that are audited by an international company, which issues its reports every 3 months, and the region exports 420 barrels of oil per day," blaming the government, parliament and the Ministry of Finance.
 He continued, "The region officially started exporting oil in 2014 independently, then there were understandings in 2017-2018 to hand over oil to SOMO, and if it is not handed over, the revenues will be deducted from its share in the budget, and it is assumed that the oil file will not be used as a political pressure card."
Sherwani noted, "Some of the statements of the Minister of Oil and officials took on a political character. It is assumed that the minister's statements were from a purely technical aspect. The administration of the region's NFC was based on Articles 111 and 112 of contracts with international companies, and the federal government filed a lawsuit against the oil companies in the region."
He concluded by saying, "The region helps the center by exporting 100,000 barrels of oil from the Kirkuk fields."

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Independent Deputy: The region's export of oil is illegal, and Baghdad is obligated to implement the decisions of the Federal Court
  
{Politics: Al-Furat News} The independent representative, Adnan Al-Jabri, described the Kurdistan region's oil export as "illegal", while stressing the importance of Baghdad's commitment to implementing the decisions of the Federal Court.
 

Al Jabri said; For the {Unannounced} program broadcast by Al-Furat satellite channel on Monday evening, that: “Oil problems will not be solved except through the legislation of the oil and gas law to manage the oil wealth, and we need political support to legislate it and it will contribute to solving most of the problems between the region and the center.”
He pointed out, "The suffering of Basra Governorate due to the lack of a fair distribution of oil wealth, as it produces more than 80% of oil, not to mention the port's revenues; 
Al-Jabri continued, "Not a single dinar has been allocated to the economic capital in Basra, and the large port of Faw needs 300 billion dollars, and the state budget is not enough. It is assumed that the door for investment will be opened for international companies to complete this project," calling on the next government to "a realistic plan to complete the great port of Faw and enact important laws." .
He added, "The government sent a number of payments to the region, considering the financial hardship, in return, it did not commit to paying the value of 250 thousand barrels of oil per day, according to what was stated in the 2021 budget. 
Al-Jabri continued, "Sending payments to the region is a legal violation of its non-compliance with the application of the budget law and the necessity of adhering to the decisions of the Federal Court," noting that "the lack of understanding and politicization of the constitutional texts caused these problems between the region and the center. The constitution stipulates that all foreign trade is exclusively among the powers of the federal government." 
He explained that "the Kurdistan region, despite the decision of the Federal Court, continues to export and manage oil wealth without referring to the central government, and the exit of the region's oil is illegal and the need to reach understandings to end this controversy."
Al-Jabri stressed that "the Federal Oil Minister is obligated to implement the decisions of the Federal Court and the problem of Iraq with illegal side political agreements and jumping over the constitution. Therefore, the laws and the constitution must be the arbiter between the region and the provinces."
And he stated, "The rules that were built on political agreements will be demolished and corrected by enacting laws that serve Iraqi society and regulate the oil industry, Iraqi wealth and money, and oblige local governments to submit in accordance with these laws," stressing the need to modernize the administrative system in the southern governorates with high population rates
. Establishing a federal oil company in the region as a “correct way to manage the oil file and it will solve a large part of the problem; But I don't think the regional government would agree to this proposal."

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Discussions in Baghdad to get out of the "political blockage"

 

 

    
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Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar announced once again that his ministry "will proceed with the legal and constitutional procedures that will enable us to implement the Federal Court's decision on the Kurdistan region's oil file" (AFP)

 

An advisor to the leader of the "Democratic Party" led by Massoud Barzani accused "influential forces" in Baghdad of exploiting the oil and financial disputes to "undermine" the Kurdistan region , with a delegation from the party starting talks in the Iraqi capital to search for a way out of the political crisis, at a time when federal officials announced " Moving forward" to implement federal decisions to subjugate the management of the Kurdish oil file .

The understandings between the two governments had faltered since 2009, and the Kurds had resorted to exporting their oil in isolation from Baghdad , while the latter had cut their share in the federal budget, which plunged the region into a severe financial crisis following an unprecedented drop in oil prices, and it is still suffering from difficulties. The region was overly secure in securing the salaries of its employees, after falling under debt estimated at about 30 billion dollars, and what further complicated the crisis was the issuance of the Federal Court, which is the highest judicial authority in the country, a ruling “the unconstitutionality of the oil and gas law issued by the Parliament of the region in 2007, and the invalidity of the region’s contracts.” concluded with foreign companies,” but Erbil rejected the decision, describing it as “unconstitutional political.”

And recently, statements and positions described as “escalatory” were issued by officials in the federal government towards Erbil, when Finance Minister Ali Allawi confirmed that the Federal Court’s decision, which judged the illegality of the oil and gas law issued by the regional parliament “prevents allocating a share to the region in the budget, until the file is resolved.” Managing its oil, which lost its legitimacy after the Federal Court’s decision,” he said, threatening that “the amount that is transferred monthly to the region, worth 200 billion dinars (138 million dollars), will not continue either.” Baghdad also refrained from allocating a share to the region from a project to build 1,000 “model” schools within An agreement signed by Baghdad with China, while the Minister of Natural Resources in the region Kamal Muhammad Salih revealed that Baghdad has stopped sending gasoline to the region.

binding decisions

And Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar announced once again that his ministry “will proceed with the legal and constitutional procedures that will enable us to implement the Federal Court’s decision on the Kurdistan region’s oil file,” according to the official news agency. They are applied, as well as access to standard methods for managing the entire oil wealth across the country,” stressing “the commitment to Iraq’s quota in OPEC for the month of June, by exporting three million and 800 thousand barrels per day, and an increase of about 50 thousand barrels for the month of July next, including The production of the Kurdistan region as part of Iraq.

political paper

In response to Abdul-Jabbar's statements, the media advisor to the leader of the "Democratic Party" Kifah Mahmoud said that Abdul-Jabbar's statements "may be included in the political rivalries, especially since the existing problem dates back to many years, since 2014, the influential forces in Baghdad have always used the financial side. As a means of pressure on the region, when the region’s share in the budget was cut for five years, amounting to about 50 billion dollars, where did this amount go?The Peshmerga forces were also deprived of their financial dues despite being part of the defense system, and the application of Article 140 of the constitution was repudiated (especially in areas under conflict), not to mention the deprivation of the region from international loans by donor countries, as well as medicine and fuel.”

 And the Federal Ministry of Oil had previously asked, last May, the oil and gas companies operating in the region to sign new contracts with the “SOMO” company, instead of the regional government, and summoned seven companies to a commercial court, which was postponed twice. In contrast, an investigative court ruled Erbil “referred the commercial court sessions against the international oil companies to the Erbil Court,” as well as the Kurdish Ministry of Energy filing a civil lawsuit against the Federal Oil Minister “for sending emails and letters to intimidate the oil companies operating in the region and his interference in the contractual rights of these companies and the regional government.”

Chronic quarrels

However, Mahmoud explained that the understanding concluded between Erbil and Baghdad last year, "the region's production was estimated at 460,000 barrels per day, with 250,000 barrels per day delivered at the price of the Federal Oil Marketing Company "SOMO", and not at the region's price as a result of pressures and lawsuits filed by Baghdad. Companies, and this is not a result of today, but for years, is what forces the region to sell it at a price much lower than the global market price.” He continued, “In spite of this, an amount of a quarter of a million barrels per day is deducted from the region’s share in the budget at the market price, and 210 remains.” A thousand barrels, half of which go to power stations and the other half is refined for local use, so that this quantity is not enough, which requires Baghdad to compensate the rest, meaning that the region’s share in the budget, which is less than 13 percent, only five percent of it reaches,” he stressed. that "The influential force in Baghdad uses the financial aspect and oil as a tool for political pressure on the region, especially in the dispute that erupted within the Shiite house over the formation of the government, to the extent that the Federal Court, which is supposed to be part of the solutions, became part of the problem when it abolished the oil and gas law legislated in Parliament of the constitutionally recognized region.

On the other hand, it seems that Erbil's positions show "determination" to proceed with its oil policies based on "constitutional articles as long as the oil and gas law has not yet been legislated," as the Prime Minister of the Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, informed the new US ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, that the differences with Baghdad ". It is not limited to the budget and oil only, but the region is federal and has rights according to the constitution, and it must be dealt with on this basis.”

Selective interpretation of the constitution

Mahmoud stressed that "a delegation from the party headed by Fouad Hussein (Foreign Minister) arrived in Baghdad, and the important part of the discussions will be with the coordination framework, to find a solution to the political impasse over forming the government, which is a concern, before delving into the details of the differences related to oil and others," and about the party's conditions. Negotiating said, "There are no conditions in the sense of conditions, but rather an insistence that the constitution be the basis for any dialogue and not negotiate in a political spirit aimed at limiting the federal system or canceling the powers of the region, with the refusal to use a selective method in relying on constitutional articles at the expense of other articles, and more than 50 articles.

It was reported that the oil dispute would be within the delegation's negotiating terms, and a member of the negotiating delegation, Bankin Rikani, did not rule out his party's withdrawal from Parliament, along the lines of the "Sadr Movement" bloc in the event of a "violation of substantive issues."

We protect him with blood

In a speech he gave earlier during a symposium held in Erbil, Barzani stressed the rejection of attempts to seize once again the constitutional powers of the region, and said, "Whoever believes that he can control us by force of arms, this is impossible, and others have tried and failed. The culture of canceling the other still exists in Iraq.” He noted that “war is the worst option, but the worst option is surrender and we will not surrender, because this region was built with the blood of martyrs and we will protect it with blood.”

Kurdish officials say that the region, "despite its limited capabilities," enjoyed security stability and economic recovery, during which it was able to rapidly develop its infrastructure during the years after the fall of the former regime in 2003, while the rest of the Iraqi regions suffered from a sharp deterioration at various levels "despite the abundance of Money” due to corruption, and this difference pushed Baghdad, “which is under resentful public pressure,” to work to undermine the entity of the region, while the Iraqi capital considers that the region violates federal decisions represented by “disavowing its obligations to hand over oil and customs revenues to the state treasury.”

Alternative options 

The Kurdistan Regional Government had revealed its intention to “establish two public companies to manage the oil and gas file, in the name of the Kurdistan Regional Oil and Gas Company (KROK), which will undertake the task of exploration, production and transportation operations, and the Kurdistan Company “COMO” is specialized in the marketing process,” pointing out that “the two companies can coordinate with my company.” The Federal National Oil and Oil Marketing “SOMO” in the relevant fields, and that coordination between the Federal Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region, but the regional government stipulated before that “an amendment to the structure of the “SOMO” company, and its internal system, to be a federal institution issued Joint formula decisions that guarantee real participation of the Kurdistan region, and that the representative of the region has the right of veto regarding issues related to the region.” However, Federal Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar told media close to Barzani’s party that his ministry “It did not receive any notification from the Kurdistan government about its intention to establish two oil companies, so we cannot give a position on what is published in the media,” he added, “but if it comes to us, we will study it if it will comply with the law, the constitution and the provisions of the Federal Court Law, as well as with the federal authorities and authorities. Then we will have an official position.

Internal criticism and reservations

The region’s oil policy faces internal criticism and reservations, especially from the closest allies of Barzani’s party in forming the region’s government, most notably the National Union party, as well as from the opposition. Locally and internationally, creating problems for the oil companies operating in the region and the countries that facilitate the process of selling its oil, and if Baghdad files a lawsuit against Turkey, the region will face a major problem,” he added, adding that “there is mismanagement in the region’s oil file, and the government has handed over the oil pipelines owned by it.” to two companies for $900 million annually,” he stressed, stressing that Erbil “has no choice but to resort to the region’s courts to file a complaint against Baghdad, and this, of course, will have no effect.”

The representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Karim Shakur, urged the regional government to “comply with the decisions of the Federal Court that cannot be appealed, otherwise we will lose a lot, and inevitably these decisions will one day become a heavy burden on the region for a long time, because Baghdad will gradually tighten its procedures and it can creating a big problem, so the regional government should expedite sending a negotiating delegation to legislate the oil and gas law in order to deepen the differences even more,” noting that “Baghdad does not need to use force to implement decisions, simply, it can stop sending the region’s current financial share, or To agree with neighboring countries and companies to cancel their contracts with the region, and this is what the Federal Oil Company did when it informed the concerned companies to stop their work, and thus they will pull the rug from under the feet of the Kurds.

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