Iraqi oil minister hopeful deal to resume exports with KRG can be reached in days - Rudaw

Iraqi oil minister said that he is optimistic a deal to resume oil exports could be reached with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in coming days, Erbil-based Rudaw TV reported on Tuesday. Hayan Abdel-Ghani told Rudaw that KRG production sharing contracts are "not acceptable", saying he proposed to the KRG and foreign oil companies operating in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan to change current contracts to profit-sharing ones.

Iraqi oil minister said that he is optimistic a deal to resume oil exports could be reached with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in coming days, Erbil-based Rudaw TV reported on Tuesday.

Hayan Abdel-Ghani told Rudaw that KRG production sharing contracts are "not acceptable", saying he proposed to the KRG and foreign oil companies operating in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan to change current contracts to profit-sharing ones. Abdel-Ghani told Rudaw that the federal constitution precluded production sharing contracts in the region. "This is why we proposed changing the contract formula to profit-sharing contracts".

The oil minister said that recent contracts between the federal oil ministry and international energy companies following Iraq's fifth oil and gas bidding rounds were "all based on a profit-sharing formula and not sharing production".