• 8 hours U.S. and Brazil Become Key Oil Suppliers to India
  • 10 hours Saudi Arabia's Production Increase Sparks Credibility Concerns
  • 11 hours Russia’s Oil Export Revenues Dip 14%
  • 12 hours India Needs Strong Petrochemical Sector to Compete With China
  • 13 hours Shell Obtains Permission to Drill for Oil and Gas Offshore South Africa
  • 14 hours BP Sees Lower Oil Prices Denting Q2 Profit
  • 16 hours Australian Rare Earths Stocks Surge After U.S. Takes Stake in MP Materials
  • 17 hours Indonesia Widens $17-Billion Corruption Probe Into State Energy Firm
  • 18 hours Electric Truck Sales Surge in China
  • 19 hours Saudi Oil Exports to China Set to Hit Two-Year High in August
  • 20 hours Oil Prices Set to End the Week Flat Amid Conflicting Signals
  • 1 day EU Floats Dynamic Price Cap on Russian Oil Under Market Pressure
  • 1 day Trump Tariff Comments Trigger Oil Price Decline
  • 1 day Europe Braces for Rising Gas Demand after Price Volatility Hits 2021 Low
  • 2 days OPEC: The World Will Need an Extra 19.5 Million Bpd Refining Capacity by 2050
  • 2 days IEA Head: The World Must Prepare to Address Energy Security Threats
  • 2 days Equinor Makes Gas Discovery Near Huge Arctic Oilfield
  • 2 days Trafigura Plans to Close UK Biodiesel Plant Amid Challenging Market
  • 2 days EU Hikes Fossil Fuel Power Generation as Renewables Falter
  • 2 days U.S. Power Utilities Seek Price Hikes on AI Demand
  • 2 days EU Faces 250-Billion Euro Gap in Grid Investment Plans
  • 2 days OPEC Bans Five Media Outlets From Vienna Meeting
  • 2 days Reuters: Saudi Aramco in U.S. Supply Talks with Commonwealth LNG
  • 2 days Standard Chartered Dismisses ‘Phantom Barrel’ Theory, Sees No Hidden Surplus
  • 2 days Baghdad-KRG Oil Deal Stalls Despite Reports of Breakthrough
  • 2 days Turkish Firms to Launch Oil and Gas Exploration Offshore Pakistan
  • 3 days UK Set to Ditch Controversial Plan for Zonal Power Pricing
  • 3 days Saudi Chemicals Giant SABIC Weighs Listing of Industrial Gas Unit
  • 3 days Uganda in Search of JV Partner to Explore Oil Block
  • 3 days Chinese Exporters Reroute Rare Earths to Keep Supplying U.S.
  • 3 days UAE Says the Oil Market Is Thirsty for More OPEC+ Barrels
  • 3 days China Cements Leadership in Wind and Solar
  • 3 days Oil Prices Dip on Tariff Expectations
  • 3 days Crude Oil Inventories Spike Threaten Price Rally
  • 3 days Copper Prices Skyrocket 17% After Trump Announces 50% Tariff
  • 3 days Oil Prices Near 2-Week Highs On OPEC+ Output and U.S. Tariffs
  • 3 days EIA's STEO: Geopolitics Push Oil Up, But Glut Still Looms
  • 3 days Nissan to Curb Production of New EV Amid China’s Rare Earths Export Controls
  • 4 days EU Parliament Endorses Eased Natural Gas Storage Targets
  • 4 days Saudi Arabia’s Crude Oil Exports Jumped by 400,000 Bpd in April
Charles Kennedy

Charles Kennedy

Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com

More Info

Premium Content

Iraq Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Over Kurdistan Oil Contracts

  • According to Iraqi media, the lawsuit was filed on Monday and accuses the U.S. government of allowing companies under its jurisdiction to sign oil exploration and production deals directly with the KRG.
  • The legal move comes just days after the Iraqi Ministry of Oil issued a sharp public statement warning that any foreign company operating independently in Kurdistan without federal approval is in breach of Iraqi law.
  • U.S. energy firms have long viewed Kurdistan as an attractive investment zone due to favorable contract terms, security arrangements, and expedited approvals compared to the more bureaucratic and volatile central government.
Erbil

Iraq has filed a lawsuit against the United States over oil contracts between American companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, escalating a constitutional dispute that has long threatened to destabilize the country’s energy sector, Reuters reported. 

According to Iraqi media, the lawsuit was filed on Monday and accuses the U.S. government of allowing companies under its jurisdiction to sign oil exploration and production deals directly with the KRG. Baghdad argues these deals bypass the federal oil ministry and violate Iraq’s constitution, which states that oil is a national resource controlled by the central government.

The legal move comes just days after the Iraqi Ministry of Oil issued a sharp public statement warning that any foreign company operating independently in Kurdistan without federal approval is in breach of Iraqi law. The ministry specifically criticized U.S.-based firms, stating that Washington’s inaction on the matter constitutes tacit approval of unauthorized oil development in the region.

This legal escalation builds on a 2022 ruling by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court that deemed Kurdish oil contracts illegal and demanded all crude sales and licensing agreements go through Baghdad. However, enforcement has been sporadic, and international companies have continued to operate in Kurdistan under contracts signed directly with the regional government.

U.S. energy firms have long viewed Kurdistan as an attractive investment zone due to favorable contract terms, security arrangements, and expedited approvals compared to the more bureaucratic and volatile central government. Despite Baghdad’s opposition, several of these firms have maintained operations in the north, shipping crude through Turkey and beyond Iraq’s federal export system.

There has been no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department or Department of Energy on the lawsuit or its potential diplomatic implications.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com


Download The Free Oilprice App Today
Download Oilprice.com on Apple Download Oilprice.com on Android

Back to homepage



ADVERTISEMENT



Leave a comment

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News