LONDON--Iraq's Oil Ministry said Friday Kurdish Peshmerga forces
had seized control of production facilities at two key oil fields
near the northern city of Kirkuk, in a move that could further
worsen already frayed relations between the Kurdistan Regional
Government and Baghdad.
According to a statement published on the oil ministry's
website, Kurdish Peshmerga forces accompanied by a number of
civilians took control of the Kirkuk and Bai Hassan oil fields at
dawn Friday, expelling employees of Iraq's Northern Oil Co.
Baghdad and the KRG are already at loggerheads, with oil at the
center of the dispute. Since May, the KRG has been exporting
1-million-barrel tankers from the Turkish port of Ceyhan,
infuriating Baghdad which claims sole authority over the country's
natural resources. Meanwhile, Kurdish forces have held control of
the disputed town of Kirkuk since insurgents overran the nearby
town of Mosul, though until now they haven't sought control of the
oil infrastructure.
The statement from the oil ministry, condemning the Peshmerga's
actions, is the latest in a salvo of barbed public comments between
the KRG and Baghdad.
Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com
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