Friday, March 29, 2024

Baghdad

Schlumberger withdraws from Kurdistan region

 Schlumberger withdraws from Kurdistan region

Schlumberger Corporation headquarters in Houston, Texas. Photo: Reuters

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The American oilfield services company, Schlumberger, announced on Monday its withdrawal from Kurdistan region in compliance with the decision of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq.

Official sources revealed that Schlumberger sent an official letter to the Ministry of Oil confirming its commitment to the decision of the Federal Supreme Court number: 59 which stipulates that oil companies should no longer operate in Kurdistan region, according to the Iraqi news Agency (INA).

Schlumberger said it will not apply without Baghdad’s consent for any tenders in the oil and gas sector of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, according to Reuters.

Earlier, Baker Hughes, one of the world’s largest oil field services companies, announced that it stopped its operations in Kurdistan region in compliance with the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq.

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq ruled last February that the oil and gas law in the Kurdistan region is unconstitutional.

The ruling obliged Kurdistan to allow the Ministry of Oil and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit to monitor oil and gas sales in the region.

The decision cancels the local law in Kurdistan enacted in 2007 and forces Kurdistan government to deliver its oil production to the federal government.

Oil revenues have always been a complicated issue in the relations between Baghdad and Erbil for years.

In May, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil called on oil and gas companies operating in Kurdistan region to sign new contracts with the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) instead of the ones signed with the government of Kurdistan.

According to Reuters, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil appointed a law firm called Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, to communicate with oil and gas companies operating in Kurdistan region to begin discussions to have the companies’ operations complied with the applicable Iraqi laws.