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Negotiations continue between Iraq and Kurdistan over oil: Ambassador
11/9/2014 0 Comments
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WASHINGTON,— With falling oil prices stripping Kurdistan and Iraq of needed cash to fend off attacks from extremist militants, Iraq's ambassador to the United States said Friday the new Iraqi government started negotiations with Kurdistan to resolve some oil policy differences that have left an oil tanker in legal limbo off Galveston for months. Ambassador Lukman Faily said he sees "positive signs" in the newly launched talks on oil revenue-sharing agreements and other points of contention that have locked Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in legal battles over oil exports, including a dispute ongoing in U.S. courts. "I'm optimistic," Faily said in an interview with the Chronicle. "People are not coming in saying, 'These are my red lines.' People are saying, 'We need to find a solution in the very near future.' But Faily reiterated Baghdad's position that all oil sales should be made through the state's oil company, arguing that deals brokered outside of official channels - like the tanker of Kurdish crude that arrived near Galveston more than three months ago - undermine the country's unity. "If we let one part of Iraq have their own policy … oil will not be a stabilizing factor for the economy and for the stability of Iraq," he said. "Oil should be the gel which will help us in defining a common vision and a common
approach."
Appointed to the position a year ago, Faily traveled to Houston for the first time this week as part of an ongoing mission to bolster ties with the city. During the three-day trip, he met with companies that do business in the Middle East, including oil and gas firms.
A years-long dispute between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government over oil landed ina Houston courtroom when a tanker carrying 1 million barrels of crude pumped from the semi-autonomouswww.Ekurd.net Kurdish region of Iraq arrived off the coast of Galveston in late July.
Iraq said the oil was smuggled out of the country through a pipeline that bypasses the ministry of oil and sued to stop the cargo from being offloaded in the United States.
The Kurdistan Regional Government fired back, arguing that the case has no place in U.S. courts.
The next round of legal filings is expected next week.
The tanker remains about 60 miles offshore and has not offloaded its cargo, according to ship-tracking data updated Friday that shows the vessel's draft hasn't changed.
When asked about the fate of the tanker anchored in the Gulf of Mexico, Faily said, "That's for the judge to decide."
Baghdad has made it clear that it prefers a consistent and coherent oil policy that encompasses all of Iraq rather than allowing any one province to strike out on its own, Faily said.
"Kurdistan should not be an anomaly," he said. "It should be an integral part of Iraq."
The standoff comes at a time when Kurdistan needs oil revenue to help defend against incursions by Islamic State militants.
Asked whether Iraq would consider temporarily allowing the Kurds to sell oil and fund their own defense, Faily said the conflict isn't isolatedto Kurdistan, nor is the semi-autonomous region solely shouldering the burden to fight off the extremists.
"This is our whole country's campaign," Faily said. "They are not a separate country. They are an integral part of our state... We're providing weapons. We're helping out."
While Faily expressed optimism about negotiations with Kurdistan, he said it's too soon to say how they will pan out.
"It's still early," he said. "Visits are planned. An exchange of ideas has already taken place. We need to now sit in one room over one table and have that discussion."
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11/9/2014 0 Comments
Picture
WASHINGTON,— With falling oil prices stripping Kurdistan and Iraq of needed cash to fend off attacks from extremist militants, Iraq's ambassador to the United States said Friday the new Iraqi government started negotiations with Kurdistan to resolve some oil policy differences that have left an oil tanker in legal limbo off Galveston for months. Ambassador Lukman Faily said he sees "positive signs" in the newly launched talks on oil revenue-sharing agreements and other points of contention that have locked Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in legal battles over oil exports, including a dispute ongoing in U.S. courts. "I'm optimistic," Faily said in an interview with the Chronicle. "People are not coming in saying, 'These are my red lines.' People are saying, 'We need to find a solution in the very near future.' But Faily reiterated Baghdad's position that all oil sales should be made through the state's oil company, arguing that deals brokered outside of official channels - like the tanker of Kurdish crude that arrived near Galveston more than three months ago - undermine the country's unity. "If we let one part of Iraq have their own policy … oil will not be a stabilizing factor for the economy and for the stability of Iraq," he said. "Oil should be the gel which will help us in defining a common vision and a common
approach."
Appointed to the position a year ago, Faily traveled to Houston for the first time this week as part of an ongoing mission to bolster ties with the city. During the three-day trip, he met with companies that do business in the Middle East, including oil and gas firms.
A years-long dispute between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government over oil landed ina Houston courtroom when a tanker carrying 1 million barrels of crude pumped from the semi-autonomouswww.Ekurd.net Kurdish region of Iraq arrived off the coast of Galveston in late July.
Iraq said the oil was smuggled out of the country through a pipeline that bypasses the ministry of oil and sued to stop the cargo from being offloaded in the United States.
The Kurdistan Regional Government fired back, arguing that the case has no place in U.S. courts.
The next round of legal filings is expected next week.
The tanker remains about 60 miles offshore and has not offloaded its cargo, according to ship-tracking data updated Friday that shows the vessel's draft hasn't changed.
When asked about the fate of the tanker anchored in the Gulf of Mexico, Faily said, "That's for the judge to decide."
Baghdad has made it clear that it prefers a consistent and coherent oil policy that encompasses all of Iraq rather than allowing any one province to strike out on its own, Faily said.
"Kurdistan should not be an anomaly," he said. "It should be an integral part of Iraq."
The standoff comes at a time when Kurdistan needs oil revenue to help defend against incursions by Islamic State militants.
Asked whether Iraq would consider temporarily allowing the Kurds to sell oil and fund their own defense, Faily said the conflict isn't isolatedto Kurdistan, nor is the semi-autonomous region solely shouldering the burden to fight off the extremists.
"This is our whole country's campaign," Faily said. "They are not a separate country. They are an integral part of our state... We're providing weapons. We're helping out."
While Faily expressed optimism about negotiations with Kurdistan, he said it's too soon to say how they will pan out.
"It's still early," he said. "Visits are planned. An exchange of ideas has already taken place. We need to now sit in one room over one table and have that discussion."
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
