Jew World Order

nsnbc : The Russian state oil company Rosneft and the government of Iraq’s Kurdistan Autonomous Region (KAR) signed a major oil deal. KAR Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said the deal restores confidence in Kurdistan’s markets. Government officials in the Iraqi capital Baghdad are less optimistic.

Massoud Barzani (L), whose term as President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region ended on August 20, 2015, but who refused to step down and remains unofficially in office, talk with his nephew Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani. (archives)

A long-term contract between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Russian oil giant Rosneft was signed in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Friday. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said the signing marks a “new beginning in developing relations between the Kurdistan Region and Russia” and the start of restoring confidence in the Region’s markets.”

Barzani added that “This is certainly a sign of restoring trust after all these years of problems in the Kurdistan Region, especially the budget cut, the war on ISIS, 1,800,000 refugees. I think this is all, after all these problems, a good beginning for the restoration of trust in the markets of Kurdistan.” He expressed hope that the agreement will be the start of a “long-term economic relationship with Russia.”

The deal is widely considered as “business as usual” even though it marks a number of political u-turns. The KRG, now fighting ISIS and aiming at an independent Kurdish state no longer deals with stolen Syrian oil that was laundered in Kurdistan before it was sent on to Turkey. Russia, in turn, has cut back its criticism of Turkey and Turkey’s crackdown against Syria’s Kurdish PYD – YPG/YPJ – which, along with the PKK are in opposition to the Iraqi Barzani clan’s KDP.

Barzani, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and Minister of Natural Resources Dr. Ashti Hawrami, came to Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The delegation also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They discussed “bilateral relations and the development of economic relations with the Kurdistan Autonomous Region,” as well as the war with ISIS, Barzani, said Nechirvan Barzani.

Expanding relations was also on the agenda in a meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novakand. “Minister Novak said that his government encourages Russian companies to do business in Kurdistan, especially in the oil and gas sector,” a statement from the KRG read. Barzani hailed the agreements and discussions, saying “We hope this marks the beginning of further agreements with countries in the energy and all other sectors.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Rosneft signed a series of documents that aim to expand cooperation between the two “in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, commerce and logistics,” a statement from Rosneft detailed, describing the Kurdistan Region as “one of the key Middle East regions.”

The Minister of Natural Resources for the Kurdistan Regional Government Ashti Hawrami and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin sign an oil agreement in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 2, 2017, as the Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani look on. Photo: KRG press office

A statement issued by Rosneft on Friday afternoon said that the documents were signed by Igor Sechin, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Ashti Hawrami, Minister of Natural Resources for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ahead of a meeting between the KAR Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “The crude is being delivered to the German refineries of Rosneft, which is indicative of our successful business diversification strategy. The Agreements are signed under the conditions profitable for the Company and set an example of well-weighed investments in one of the key Middle East regions,” Rosneft reported Igor Sechin as saying.

Currently, the Kurdistan Region exports oil products through a pipeline to world markets at the Turkish port of Ceyhan. “The Parties signed an investment agreement under which they committed to develop cooperation in exploration and production, agreed on monetization of the export oil pipeline in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as entered into a number of production sharing agreements,” read the statement. Rosneft will gain access to the major regional transportation system with the throughput capacity of 700 thousand barrels per day, detailed the statement, “which is planned to be expanded up to 1 mln bbl per day by the end of 2017.”

The agreement is a continuation and strengthening of one signed between the MNR and Rosneft in February, a contract on purchase and sale of crude for 2017-2019. “The new agreements will allow to talk about full entry of the Company in one of the most promising regions of the developing global energy market with the expected recoverable reserves in the order of 45 billion bbl of oil and 5.66 trillion m3 of gas (according to the estimate of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Kurdistan Region). The agreements provide for further phased investments of Rosneft in Kurdistan Region,” read the statement. The Kurdistan Region is currently exporting around 650,000 barrels of oil per day and is expected to increase its exports, mainly to the Turkish Ceyhan port by pipeline.

Baghdad less optimistic than Barzani and Rosneft.

The long-standing disputes between the federal government of Iraq and the KRG are according to many experts, analysts and not least Iraqi lawmakers in Baghdad likely to have an impact on any oil deals signed by the KRG.  Arez Abdulla, and Iraqi lawmaker and a member of the oil and gas committee in the Iraqi parliament, warned that these lingering issues might impact deals, also those that already have been signed.

Speaking to the press, Aziz said the KRK, under current circumstances and  pressured by the Iraqi government, is forced to make concessions when bargaining with foreign oil companies, signing unfavorable deals. He added: “Due to the disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, the KRG sometimes goes along with conditions put forward by foreign oil firms, but if the issues are solved, the Kurdistan Region can much easier impose its conditions on the companies.”

Baghdad has long threatened to blacklist any oil firm that operates in the Kurdistan Region without the approval of Iraq’s central government. However, with the central government increasingly loosing control over regions, the threat of sanctions imposed by Baghdad have lost much of the weight they have had some years ago.

in 2012, before the country more or less fell apart due to the foreign sponsored invasion by ISIS in 2013, Baghdad hit out at US oil giant Chevron Corp over its signed oil contract with Kurdistan, barring it from any oil agreements with the central government, in a move meant to deter other companies from dealing directly with the semi-autonomous northern region. Baghdad maintains that contracts signed by the KRG are illegal. In 2011 US Exxon Mobil aroused its anger by striking a deal with the Region while also running a project at a supergiant oilfield in the south.

CH/L – nsnbc 03.06.2017