A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held talks with counterparts from the federal government in Baghdad this week over the semi-autonomous region’s oil sector. The 11 April talks came after Iraq’s Supreme Court controversially ruled the KRG’s oil sector unconstitutional in February (MEES, 18 February), and the Oil Ministry has subsequently stepped up the pressure on Erbil MEES, 8 April).
Both sides expressed positivity following the discussions, with Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Ismaael saying “what we found today was great positivity from the Region and openness from the federal oil ministry in laying down the mechanisms that will melt the ice.” Mr Ismaael raised his plans for the formation of a federally-owned state firm to oversee oil operations in the Kurdistan Region – the Kurdistan Regional Oil Company (KROC). (CONTINUED - 245 WORDS)