BAGHDAD, Iraq, — Iraqi oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has said that all foreign deals with the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq must be approved by the central government.
The deputy premier for Energy Affairs on Wednesday warned French companies that any contracts with Baghdad would be scrapped if they signed deals with local or regional governments in Iraq.
Hussein al-Shahristani “warned French companies working in the oil sector in Iraq against signing contracts with (entities) other than the Iraqi government,” during a meeting with French ambassador Denis Gauer, the deputy premier’s office said.
Shahristani asked Gauer to convey to the French government that if any French firm signs “a contract with the Kurdistan region or another local government without the approval of the federal government, this will mean the end of its contracts in Iraq.
Maliki last week requested that U.S. President Barack Obama intervene to block the Exxon deal, which the company signed with Kurdistan in October.