Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government are at odds over an oil deal made by Kurdish leaders with Hunt Oil of Dallas, The New York Times reported Friday.

“We believe these contracts have needlessly elevated tensions" between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the national government of Iraq, a senior U.S. State Department official told the Times.

The contract -- the first U.S. oil contract signed in Iraq -- may be at cross purposes with official U.S. foreign policy of strengthening Iraq's central government, the official said.

Hunt Oil agreed to the contract after the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government passed a regional oil law last month. It is unclear how the regional law would intersect with a national oil law being considered by the Iraqi Parliament to distribute oil equitably to the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish areas of Iraq, the Times reported.

Hunt Oil Chief Executive Officer and President Ray L. Hunt is a close political ally of U.S. President George W. Bush and serves on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Times reported. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 03 October 2007   

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