Tension returns between Erbil and Baghdad.
The signing of two $110 billion energy agreements between American companies and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq during the recent visit of Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the region, to Washington has created a major political and economic controversy between the central government in Baghdad and Erbil.
The dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over oil contracts has existed since 2007, and the Iraqi government has emphasized that the Kurdistan Region does not have the right to conclude oil contracts with foreign companies without coordinating with the central government.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government authorities, citing a 2005 law and an extensive interpretation of the region’s powers, emphasize that the region has the right to sell oil to meet its needs and that Erbil has the right to control resources within the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Although this deep-rooted political conflict has always existed in this country, in 2022, after the Constitutional Court’s ruling and the suspension of oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey and its re-export through the Ceyhan port, these differences had largely subsided. In the recent period, “Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani” and “Massoud” Barzani succeeded in managing tensions in this regard and preventing the creation of an internal crisis.