Iraq oil payment talks 'hit impasse'

Roadblock: in payments dispute between Kurdistan and Iraq

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By Steve Marshall and news reports

 25 February 2013 11:04 GMT

Iraq talks aimed at resolving an oil payments dispute with Kurdistan are believed to have hit deadlock, while reported deals signed by Russia’s Gazprom Neft with the regional government are set to further strain relations with the Baghdad regime.

Reports at the end of last week that officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had finalised an agreement with federal counterparts for a workable mechanism for payments to foreign producers in the semi-autonomous region had raised hopes of a resolution to the long-running spat.

The payments row, part of a wider dispute over resource sovereignty and revenue sharing, stems from Baghdad’s objection to production sharing deals signed by Kurdistan with international oil companies (IOCs) such as DNO International, Genel Energy and ExxonMobil that it deems illegal.

Exports from the region through the…

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