The semi-autonomous government of Iraq's Kurdistan region wants new hydrocarbon and revenue-sharing laws by June 2011 as a condition of its participation in a new Iraqi administration, the Kurdistan Regional Government's minister for natural resources said Tuesday.
The semi-autonomous government of
Iraq
's
Kurdistan
region wants new hydrocarbon and revenue-sharing laws by June 2011 as a
condition of its participation in a new Iraqi administration, the Kurdistan
Regional Government's minister for natural resources said Tuesday.
Speaking at an Iraqi oil conference here, Ashti Hawrami also said there should
be no more blacklisting by the
Baghdad
government of oil companies working in the KRG region, and criticized the
government's new oil production target.
Baghdad
and the KRG are at
loggerheads over production-sharing agreements signed by the Kurds. The federal
government argues these deals are illegal because they haven't been approved,
while the Kurds say they are in line with the constitution.
Hawrami said eight new oil discoveries have been made in the KRG region in the
past two-to-three years, and said the KRG has signed 37 contracts with 40
companies, resulting in $10 billion investment in the oil sector, notably in
exploration and production. He also said three refineries have been
commissioned, with a total capacity of 200,000 barrels a day, and three power
plants have been built, providing over 80% of the region's power needs.
Kurdish oil production "can reach 1 million barrels a day by January
2014," Hawrami said, adding there is "between 100-200 billion cubic
feet of [non-associated] natural gas in the KRG." However, he criticized
Iraq
's oil
production target of 12 million barrels a day in the next 10 years.
"Let's be mindful of the market, let's be mindful of our OPEC
partners," he said. "Let's make it 4 million, let's make it 6
million."
Hawrami later held a news conference in which he said the KRG is ready now to
start exporting 100,000 barrels a day, to increase to 150,000 barrels a day by
the end of 2011 or early 2012.
"We are happy to start with 100,000 barrels a day," he told
reporters.
He said the crude oil would be exported from two Kurdish fields, Taq Taq and
Tawke. The latter is already connected by the Iraqi northern export pipeline to
Turkey
's
Mediterranean
port
of
Ceyhan
,
while oil will be shipped by trucks from the former to the delivery point.
The KRG exported oil from the two fields for around four months last year but
suspended the flow pending the central government agreeing to pay back
contracting foreign companies.
Around 40 companies, including Norway's DNO International (DNO.OS), have
invested in Kurdistan but their revenues have been curtailed by being unable to
sell oil for export because Baghdad has previously deemed the contracts
illegal.
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