The Russian company is one of a plethora of players to haveincurred the wrath of Iraq’s government over oil deals struck in the autonomousregion of Kurdistan to the north.

"Iraq sent a letter to Gazprom [Neft] at the end of October asking thecompany for an official reply, that it should cancel deals signed with KRG [KurdistanRegional Government] or pull out completely from Badra oilfield," Reutersquoted Iraqi energy ministry spokesperson Faisal Abdullah as saying on Friday.

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