Amid a bitter dispute with the central government in Baghdad over the legality of its independent oil sector (MEES, 24 June), Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) can at least take solace that gross oil revenues are surging. The latest audited figures from Deloitte show that revenues exceeded $3bn in Q1 – easily the highest quarterly figure since Deloitte began auditing the sector in 2017.

Once Q2 figures are released they should show a further increase given that oil prices surged in late February following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have remained over $100/B for most of the period since. (CONTINUED - 1683 WORDS)