Iraq to finalise contract with Exxon over Kurd deal

19 November 2011: The Iraqi oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate has said the government is set to move to end a major contract with Exxon Mobil after the US oil giant signed a deal with semi-autonomous Kurdistan to explore fields there. Baghdad and Kurdistan's regional authorities are in a long-running dispute over oil and land rights, and the former says all foreign oil deals signed with the Kurdistan region are illegal. Exxon has violated the ministry directions and instructions concerning the companies working in Kurdistan. Exxon has a multi-billion dollar contract with Iraq's oil ministry to develop its 8.7-billion-barrel West Qurna Phase One oilfield in the south.

Source: Ameinfo