Gazprom enters Kurdistan Region
02/08/2012 10:13
ERBIL, August 2 (AKnews) – Russian oil giant Gazprom entered the
Kurdistan Region to invest in the oil sector in region despite Baghdad
and Erbil’s unsettled oil issues.
The Russian giant ignored Baghdad’s threats as French oil company Total did this last week, reported Reuters.
According
to the source Gazprom bought 40 percent of the Garmian block and 80
percent of the Shakal block. Kurdistan’s regional government will keep a
20-percent stake in both.
It is estimated that the blocks contain potential resources of about 3.6 billion barrels of oil.
Gazprom already has a project in Iraq, near Iran's border, where it expects to produce about 15,000 barrels per day from 2013.
Total
announced on Tuesday that it signed a contract to explore oil in the
region. This angered the Iraqi government. Total explained that it won a
35-percent share in two blocks in the region.
Iraqi spokesperson
Faisal Abdullah announced that the government will blacklist French oil
giant Total after signing oil contracts with the Kurdistan Region.
The
spokesperson for the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs said Iraq
will penalize companies signing contracts with the region without prior
approval from the central government.
Iraqi government earlier
blacklisted US oil outfit Chevron Corp and barred it from signing deals
with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil following signing oil contracts with the
Kurdistan Region.
By Hemn Hadi
DM/AKnews
