A strongly worded statement from the Ministry of Oil to the regional government: Abide by the constitution and the law.
The Federal Ministry of Oil issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday to the Kurdistan Regional Government, demanding that it adhere to the law, the constitution, and agreements regarding oil exports and the transfer of revenues.
The ministry said in a statement, “The Ministry of Oil stresses the necessity for the Kurdistan Regional Government to adhere to the constitution, the decisions of the Federal Court, and the applicable laws, including the general budget law, which obligates the regional government to hand over the oil produced from the fields located within it to the federal Ministry of Oil for the purpose of exporting it and supplying the public treasury with its revenues. The ministry has previously sent official correspondence and delegations to the regional government on an urgent and continuous basis to achieve this, but to no avail.”
The ministry stressed “the need to immediately begin delivering oil, in accordance with the text of the amended budget law, which was enacted in agreement with the regional government, and the need for the regional government not to shirk its obligations.”
The ministry continued, “The continued failure to deliver oil causes major financial losses to Iraq and exposes Iraq’s international reputation and its oil obligations to harm. The regional government’s failure to abide by the constitution and the law has led to the loss of Iraqi oil exports and the public treasury twice: the first by not receiving and exporting oil produced in the region and benefiting from its revenues, and the second loss by forcing the federal Ministry of Oil to reduce production from the remaining oil fields outside the region in compliance with Iraq’s quota in OPEC, which counts the production of fields located in the region as part of Iraq’s quota, regardless of the violations indicated.”
The ministry noted that it is “monitoring information indicating the continued smuggling of oil from the region outside Iraq. The ministry holds the regional government fully legally responsible for this and reserves the right to continue taking all legal measures in this regard.”
Burathanews.com