ExxonMobil is to be excluded from the fourth round of auctions for oilfield development programs in South Iraq, as punishment for signing productions sharing agreements in Kurdistan deemed illegal by the Iraqi government.
Abdul Mahdi al-Ameedi, the director of the Oil Ministry’s contracts and licensing directorate, told AK News on Saturday, that unless Exxon reneges on the six deals it has signed with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the supermajor will be excluded from bidding.
“The Ministry is waiting for the official response from the company before it will be completely prevented from working in Iraqi oil fields,” Amidi told AK News, without giving a deadline.
Exxon has so far maintained a resolute silence, refusing to respond to requests from either Baghdad or the media.
On 13 November the KRG announced that Exxon was the first supermajor to contravene Baghdad’s blacklist policy on any contracts which give foreign oil firms a proprietary interest in Iraqi oil, sending shockwaves through the oil sector in Kurdistan.
Early expectations that the deals would for reconciliation between the KRG and Baghdad on a new oil law have given way to concerns that the deal may affect relations between the two negatively as the rhetoric from Baghdad has become increasingly harsh and Exxon signed the deals despite advice from the US government to hold off until an oil law was on the statute book.
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