Iraqi oil row 'unlikely to end before polls'BRUSSELS — An oil dispute between Iraqi Kurdistan and the centralgovernment in Baghdad is unlikely to be resolved by the elections onJanuary 21, 2010, the autonomous region's leader said Tuesday.
"Ido not think the differences between our autonomous region and thefederal government will be resolved by the elections," Kurdish regionalpresident Massud Barzani told members of the European parliament inBrussels.
"I don't think that can be done in coming months," he said.
Last month, Iraqi Kurdistan halted oil exports due to a payment dispute with Baghdad.
Thetwo sides have clashed over how oil revenues should be distributed andKurdish authorities have said they will not resume crude exports untilBaghdad pays the foreign energy companies which are pumping the oil.
Theoil ministry and Iraqi Kurdistan are at loggerheads over how to payinternational companies involved in the tapping of the nation's vastenergy reserves.
Baghdad has repeatedly said it is opposed to theKurds signing their own contracts, a position which Kurdish officialshave largely disregarded by signing dozens of agreements with foreignfirms.
However, the central government in May gave its approvalfor Iraqi Kurdistan to begin exporting oil extracted by the companieswhich had signed deals with Arbil, the region's capital.
"Oil andgas belong to all the Iraqi people, we have no problem with that,"Barzani said, but he added: "We don't want centralised oil and gaspolicy imposed on us, that would not be fair."
"Revenues must be fairly shared out," he said.
Iraqhas the world's third largest proven reserves of oil, with more than115 billion barrels, behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran.