* Baghdad says payments have been approved
* Oil rights at heart of long-running dispute
BAGHDAD, April 1 (Reuters) – Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan
region halted its oil exports on Sunday, accusing the central
government in Baghdad of failing to make payments to companies
working there in the latest clash in their long-running dispute
over oil rights.
The friction between Iraq’s government and Kurdish region,
autonomous since 1991 with its own government and armed forces,
centers on control of oilfields and revenues in the north, and
has already trimmed payments to producers like Norway’s DNO.
“After consultation with the producing companies, the
ministry has reluctantly decided to halt exports until further
notice,” Kurdistan’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a
statement.
“There have been no payments for 10 months nor any
indication from the federal authorities that payments are
forthcoming,” it said.
Officials from Iraq’s oil ministry could not immediately be
reached for comment. But Baghdad says it has approved payment of
close to $560 million to oil producers in the Kurdish region
once it completes final audits.
The KRG said last week it had reduced oil exports to 50,000
barrels per day over the payment dispute. Iraq’s government says
it receives on average 70,000 to 75,000 bpd from Kurdistan, but
says it only received 65,000 bpd since the start of the year.
Tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdish region have risen
since October last year when Exxon Mobil announced a deal to
explore for oil in Kurdistan. Baghdad dismissed the accord as
illegal, and warned the U.S. oil giant could risk its agreements
with the central government
