Baghdad- Kurdistan oil row endedIraq minister:Baghdad- Kurdistan oil row ended
Shahristani:Iraqi government to be responsible for paying extraction expenses inKurdistan.
BAGHDAD - An oil disputebetween Iraq and the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan has beenresolved, the central government's oil minister said in Baghdad onThursday.
"We reached an agreementwith the Kurds that all revenues will be handed over to SOMO and theIraqi government will be responsible for paying the extraction expensesin Kurdistan," Hussein al-Shahristani told reporters.
SOMO is Iraq's State OilMarketing Organisation which deals with sales of crude and otherpetroleum-based products.
Iraqi Kurdistan halted oilexports in October last year due to a payment dispute with Baghdad.
The two sides previouslyclashed over how oil revenues should be distributed and Kurdishauthorities had said they would not resume crude exports until Baghdadpaid the foreign energy companies which are pumping the oil.
The central government hadrepeatedly said it was opposed to the Kurds signing their own contracts,a position which Kurdish officials disregarded by making dozens ofagreements with foreign firms.
With an estimated 115billion barrels, Iraq has the world's third largest proven oil reservesbehind only Saudi Arabia and Iran. Its oil revenues account for around85 percent of government income.
Since November, Baghdad hassigned contracts with foreign firms to develop 10 oil fields around thecountry, with the aim of raising its output, currently at 2.4 millionbpd, to between 10 and 12 million bpd.