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Friday, 05 December, 2008, 17:10 GMT | more >>

Baghdad halts oil flows to OMV



By Upstream staff 

Iraq has halted oil supplies to Austrian player OMV in retaliation for it signing an exploration deal with the Kurdish regional government (KRG) in northern Iraq, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said today.

"The action has been taken from the first of January, everything has been stopped," the minister told Reuters.

An industry source told the news agency the oil supplied was around 10,000 barrels per day of Basra Light crude.

Baghdad insists that all oil deals in Iraq must be approved by the central government and claims the KRG deals with international companies are illegal.

"We do not comment on this," OMV spokesman Thomas Huemer told Reuters. "We have no problem with supply."

"We, like other oil companies who have exploration rights in northern Iraq, believe that these agreements which are in place are in line with the Iraqi constitution."


Friday, 01 February, 2008, 15:00 GMT  | last updated: Friday, 01 February, 2008, 15:37 GMT

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