Diyala blocks give MOO licensing round added political dimension


Issue 845 - 16 Jan 2009 | 2 minute read

Among the issues thrown up by the Ministry of Oil (MOO)’s second licensing round, announced on 31 December, is the challenge it poses to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) through Baghdad’s decision to offer exploration permits in the Qamar, Nau Doman and Gilabet oilfields and Khashm Al-Ahmar gas field in upper Diyala province. The fields’ inclusion in the round comes before the Kurds can resolve the ownership of disputed territories in these fields. Indeed, according to analysis by GSN’s sister publication Iraq Focus, “Baghdad is playing the Kurds at their own game of laying down markers on key terrain in the border oilfields.”

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