SLEMANI — The Kurdistan Region is ready to negotiate with the Iraqi federal government to determine a fair share of petroleum products for the Region based on its population and constitutional rights, Kamal Muhammad Salih, acting minister of natural resources, said Thursday.
Salih’s remarks came in response to Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Muhammad, who reportedly said Baghdad was prepared to supply the Kurdistan Region with the gasoline it requires if the Region hands over the 50,000 barrels of crude oil currently allocated for domestic consumption.
In an official statement, Salih said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has consistently called for a fair distribution of petroleum products across Iraq.
“By all standards, the Region’s share of crude oil for domestic consumption is more than double what it currently is,” Salih said, adding that the allocation of 50,000 barrels per day was the result of a temporary agreement and was not the KRG’s preferred arrangement.
He stressed that the interests of Kurdistan Region citizens remain the government’s priority and said the KRG was prepared to enter negotiations with Baghdad if the federal government was willing to supply all types of fuel at subsidized prices according to the Region’s population share.
“We are ready to negotiate so that the real and fair share of the Kurdistan Region can be determined, just like all other regions of Iraq,” Salih said.
The dispute comes amid a fuel crisis in the Kurdistan Region, where regular gasoline currently sells for more than 1,250 Iraqi dinars per liter, significantly above the subsidized price of 450 dinars per liter available in other parts of Iraq.
Several Iraqi lawmakers, citing the federal oil minister, have said Baghdad would be prepared to provide subsidized gasoline to the Kurdistan Region if the KRG transfers the 50,000 barrels of crude oil currently allocated for domestic consumption to the federal government.
Salih, however, argued that the Region’s current crude oil allocation does not reflect its actual needs or population share.
He also praised Iraqi MPs who have called for a more equitable allocation of crude oil for domestic consumption in the Kurdistan Region, describing their position as an important step toward achieving justice in the distribution of petroleum products.
The issue has become another point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad over the distribution of oil and fuel resources, with the KRG insisting that any arrangement should take into account the Region’s constitutional rights and population share.
