The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq has unilaterally signed two energy deals with US companies to develop natural gas resources − a move that has angered Baghdad, which has been trying to control the region’s oil and gas industry.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani oversaw the signing on Monday, during a visit to Washington aimed at bolstering economic and military co-operation with the US.
The combined estimated value for the agreements with HKN Energy-led joint venture and WesternZagros is at “tens of billions of US dollars”, a statement said. No more details have been announced on the terms of the two deals.
In a separate statement, HKN Energy and partner Onex Group said they will develop the Miran gasfield through their newly formed joint venture, Miran Energy.
The field “could hold an estimated 8 trillion standard cubic feet of recoverable natural gas”, it added. Its development could generate more than $40 billion in long-term value, said the statement.
The agreement marks “a significant milestone not only for our companies, but for the energy future of the region”, said Russell Freeman, chief executive of HKN Energy. He described the project as “one of the region’s most strategic gas resources”.
Meanwhile, WesternZagros − the US privately owned exploration and production company operating in the region − announced its acquisition of the resource-rich Topkhana block.
“The combined Topkhana-Kurdamir block holds a resource potential of up to 5 trillion standard cubic feet and 900 million barrels of recoverable natural gas and crude oil respectively,” it said in a statement. This is “expected to generate an estimated $70 billion of revenue over the life of the project”.
The gas production is planned for domestic supply in the region, with potential to meet demand for other parts of Iraq and the wider region, HKN Energy and WesternZagros said.
In a statement, the Iraqi Federal Ministry of Oil rejected the deals, saying the move is "a clear violation to the Iraqi law". The ministry said "oil wealth belongs to all Iraqi citizens and any investment decisions should be made through the federal government".
Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and helped the Kurds gain official semi-autonomy, the Kurdistan Regional Government has been at loggerheads with the federal government over issues, including energy deals the regional government signed unilaterally, and its share of the federal budget.
The Kurdish region's oil sector suffered a major blow in early 2022 when the Federal Supreme Court ruled that the region's law regulating the industry was unconstitutional. The court demanded it hand over all of the oil sector’s activities to Baghdad – including exports.
A 2023 arbitration ruling forced the region's exports through Turkey to halt, cutting off a major source of revenue for Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, and leaving it struggling to fulfil salary payments.
Since then, no progress has been made to resume oil exports or hand over the industry to Baghdad.
The Oil Ministry said the "invalidity of these contracts" was based on the constitution of the Republic of Iraq and rulings of the Federal Court.
In response to Baghdad, the Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources defended the deals, arguing that the constitution gives it the right and authority to sign energy deals.
It said the two deals "are based on contracts signed many years ago...the recent change has been in the operating companies, in accordance with the legal and contractual framework of the existing agreements".
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
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7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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ESSENTIALS
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Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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F1 The Movie
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Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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