Sources said the dispute relates to the terms of the production sharing contract signed in 2007.

HKN Energy has made several large finds in Sarsang, estimated to have 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, but has yet to declare commerciality.

“They should have declared commerciality under the terms of their PSC, which calls for an exploration period of five years. Five years have passed,’’ said a source in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

‘’Sarsang