Iraq sues KRG over US gas contracts: Official

BAGHDAD

Iraq's federal authorities have filed a complaint against the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for signing gas contracts with two U.S. companies, two officials told AFP on May 27.

Oil exports have been a major point of tension between Baghdad and Arbil, with a major pipeline through Türkiye shut since 2023 over legal disputes and technical issues.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced the signing of two major energy deals valued at "tens of billions of U.S. dollars" during a visit to Washington in May.

Iraq's Oil Ministry immediately slammed the agreements, saying it constitutes a "clear breach of Iraqi law" and that all oil and gas development must go through the federal government.

An Iraqi government official told AFP that a lawsuit had been filed before Baghdad's Al-Karkh commercial court.

A Kurdish official confirmed the complaint, saying it called for "the cancellation of the contracts.”

Oil exports were previously independently sold by the KRG region, without the approval or oversight of the central administration in Baghdad, through the port of Ceyhan in Türkiye.

But the region's oil exports have been at a standstill since March 2023 when the arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris ruled that oil exports by the regional government were illegal.