The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) judicial council Saturday said that its oil and gas law remains effective despite an Iraq Supreme Court ruling that found the law unconstitutional.
The KRG, an autonomous government in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, enacted the Oil and Gas Law No. 22 (of 2007), enabling Kurdish authorities to develop and administer their own oil and gas sector independently of the Iraqi government. In February 2022 the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court found that the law violated the Iraqi Constitution of 2005 and declared all oil contracts entered into by the KRG with foreign companies invalid. Further, the court required the KRG to hand over control of its oil fields to Iraq.
The KRG, in an earlier statement issued in May 2022, claimed that the management of the oil sector is not exclusively under federal government control, citing Articles 110 and 112 of the constitution. According to the KRG, these provisions confer exclusive authority on the federal government in relation to “present” fields existing at the time of the constitution’s implementation in 2005. This would mean that the KRG has the right to control any fields found after 2005.
In its latest statement, the KRG says that Article 112 requires the federal government to manage the exploration of discovered fields along with regional governments and oil-producing provinces. The resulting revenue should be distributed among the entire population of Iraq.
The Kurdish authorities contend that the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court is unconstitutional and has no authority to repeal its oil law. Article 92(2) of the Iraqi Constitution requires the Iraqi Council of Representatives to enact a law establishing the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court. The KRG alleges that no such law has been passed to date. This would mean Iraq does not have a constitutionally established supreme court, and the oil law remains entirely in force.
Kurdish authorities hope that the development of its energy sector will enable the region to establish its independence from Iraq. However, the Iraqi federal government has undertaken several efforts to exercise control over all oil fields in the region. In May 2022 the Iraqi federal oil ministry announced its intention to establish a new oil company in the Kurdistan region. The oil ministry has also contacted international oil corporations in the region to enter new contracts with the federal government instead of the KRG.
Further, the North Oil Company, which is under Iraq’s control, revealed that it is suing the KRG for allegedly using security forces to seize control of oil fields in which the company was operating until 2008. Kurdish authorities have denied these claims.
The KRG has established talks between KRG President Nechirvan Barzani and a Negotiating Committee of the Iraqi parliament to resolve the political deadlock in Iraq.
