Nine foreign firms demand $24B in compensation for halted Iraqi oil exports
Shafaq News/ Nine foreign companies are demanding $24 billion in compensation following the cessation of oil exports due to legal disputes surrounding their contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), according to Iraqi economist Nabil al-Marsoumi.
“The companies involved are Addax Petroleum Corporation, Dana Gas, DNO ASA, Gazprom Neft, Genel Energy PLC, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, HKN Energy, ShaMaran Petroleum, and WesternZagros,” al-Marsoumi detailed, noting that the compensation claims stem from losses incurred after the suspension of oil exports.
The Karkh Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Iraq’s Oil Ministry and upheld the validity of the contracts, which it ruled to be "legally binding and enforceable" for all parties involved. The court further asserted that no external entity has the authority to challenge the agreements.
The court clarified that the Federal Supreme Court's February 2022 ruling, which deemed the legal basis for the contracts unconstitutional, “could not be retroactively applied to agreements signed before that decision. This interpretation aligns with a general principle of Iraqi civil law.”
Last September, members of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) called for the immediate resumption of oil exports through the Iraq–Turkiye Pipeline (ITP).
The companies urged the Iraqi government to engage with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and international oil companies in tripartite talks aimed at reopening the 600-mile pipeline.
APIKUR, which represents eight foreign oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region—DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone, HKN Energy, Hunt Oil, MOL, Shamaran Petroleum, and WesternZagros—stressed the urgency of restoring the vital export route.
The pipeline has been closed since March 2023, when Turkiye shut it down following a ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration. The court ordered Ankara to pay approximately $1.5 billion in damages to Iraq for transporting oil without Baghdad’s consent.
Before the suspension, the pipeline carried about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) to international markets, accounting for roughly 0.5% of global crude supply. APIKUR estimates that the halt has resulted in $20 billion in losses for all parties involved.
