Kurds Negotiate Oil Deals With No Oversight From Baghdad, Straining Balance in Iraq

The Kurdish authorities in Iraq are negotiating lucrative oil deals without consulting Baghdad, the government said yesterday. The criticism of the semi-autonomous Kurds put further strain on Iraq's delicate constitutional balance.

Under the new constitution, oil deals in Iraq are supposed to be negotiated by the oil ministry. But in recent weeks, Kurdish officials have signed three long-term production agreements with Turkish and Norwegian companies without first referring the deals to Baghdad.

This heightened suspicions in the capital that the Kurds, who already control an enclave in the Northeast of Iraq, are preparing for full independence. The Kurds claim ownership of half of Iraq's vast oil wealth, but the authorities in Baghdad insist on government control.

The oil minister, Hussein Shahristani, said yesterday that Baghdad would not be bound by deals reached by the Kurdish enclave and foreign oil companies.