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Hawkar Sardar ?????? ?????
@SardarHawkar
As expected, no agreement has reached with #Baghdad , the Kurdish delegate will return to #Erbil ...

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So what's the KRG's plan B which they alluded to? Shaikan to the Chinese?

2021-02-02 21:35
Shafaq News / Kurdistan's delegation's discussions in Baghdad have witnessed dramatic developments in the past few hours on Kurdistan's share of the Iraqi federal budget for 2021.

Sources said that the Shiite blocs' demands are near-impossible, suggesting that the talks are on the verge of collapse.

"The parliamentary blocs have not yet reached a final version of the budget bill, particularly the provisions relating to Kurdistan's share", a source in the Parliamentary Finance Committee told Shafaq News agency.

"Representatives of the Shiite political blocs in the Parliamentary Finance Committee informed the Kurdish delegation to hand over revenues of 500,000 barrels per day (BPD) to the federal government instead of 250,000 BPD, in return for Kurdistan to receive its share of the entire budget without any shortage", the source said.

Baghdad and Erbil's governments reached an agreement stating that Kurdistan should hand over revenues of 250,000 BPD and half of the other revenues from border crossings and others, in exchange for an estimated 12.6% of the budget - in addition to the payment of the Peshmerga salaries.

The agreement was included in the draft budget approved by the Iraqi government and submitted to the parliament for approval. However, Kurdistan's Regional Government's (KRG) delegation returned to Baghdad again to convince the political blocs in parliament to pass Kurdistan's quota.

KRG stated that it exports 250,000 BPD of oil produced from its fields, and the rest goes for domestic consumption, leaving it unable to meet the new demands of Shiite blocs - which could lead to the collapse of the talks.

Al-Fatah Alliance's MP, Ahmed Al-Kinani, said that the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, which was included in the draft budget, was "unconstitutional".

"The federal government has asked KRG to pay revenues of 250,000 BPD, but the oil exported from Kurdistan is between 450 and 550 BPD", Al-Kinani, a leader of the Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq movement, told Shafaq News agency.

"The federal government and KRG must abide by the Constitution. Baghdad must not compromise and distribute imports fairly", he added.

"The political blocs informed the Kurdish delegation of their rejection of the oil spending stipulated in the budget bill. Kurdistan must hand over the real revenues from oil exports to Baghdad", Al-Kinani said.

Managing oil wealth and distributing its revenues has been one of Baghdad and Erbil's most contentious issues for many years. Each side accuses the other of violating the Constitution.

"Most political forces are working to strip Kurdistan of its constitutional powers and turn it into a governorate centrally run by Baghdad", said Diyar Barwari, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Iraqi parliament.

"There is political pressure on Kurdistan to abdicate its constitutional powers and return the country to the totalitarian regime", Barwari told Shafaq News agency.

Well, it's not glamour model of the month, but it could well get many people on here more excited, if we get to see what's hidden:

CategoryNews Author Daniel Benedyk Date1st February 2021

A case in which 39 Essex Chambers’ Daniel Benedyk is instructed is included in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases 2021.

Dynasty Company for Oil and Gas Trading v The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and Dr Ashti Hawrami is a jurisdiction challenge brought by Ashti Hawrami, the former minister of natural resources for the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG). He, along with the KRG itself, is facing a $1.682bn (£1.24bn) claim from oil company Dynasty, which says the pair should not have stopped it from assuming control of special purpose vehicles operating two oil and gas fields in the region. Dynasty had agreed the deal with Spanish giant Repsol but was refused approval.

Daniel Benedyk is acting for the claimant, Dynasty, instructed by Robert Dougans of Preiskel & Co.

https://www.39essex.com/the-lawyers-top-20-cases-2021/

Full story behind a paywall - Any legal beagles here subscribe to "The Lawyer"?

SULAIMANI — The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy announced on Sunday (January 24) that a full accounting of government income and expenditures will be included in the draft general budget for the first time when it is presented to the Kurdistan Parliament later this year.

Following a meeting with the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources, the finance ministry said in a statement that the budget of the Kurdistan Region will be comprehensive and that information about all ministries, boards, sources of income, expenditures, debts, and deficits will be included in the legislation.

The statement added that information about the NOTORIOUSLY OPAQUE MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE REGION'S OIL INDUSTRY WILL BE INCLUDED.

The KRG has not passed a budget since 2013.

On January 12, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that the budget should be real and transparent, with accurate figures for oil and non-oil income, expenditures, and deficits.

(NRT Digital Media)
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"Opaque" indeed.

Argusmedia 20-12-20

Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will not hand over 250,000 b/d of its physical crude to state-owned marketer Somo under a new agreement reached between Baghdad and Erbil.

The 2021 draft budget stated that the KRG must hand over 250,000 b/d of its crude to Somo in order to receive its share of the federal budget — a clause that has long been a point of contention between Baghdad and Erbil.

But the KRG is unable to transfer this crude to Somo for export as it has already sold its marketing rights to five trading firms against loans it has been receiving since 2014, an Iraqi oil source said. The ministry of finance is therefore calculating the KRG's oil revenues to be deducted from its share of the 2021 budget, the source added.

KRG oil export revenues have totaled just over $4bn so far this year, according to Argus estimates, around half of year-ago levels. The KRG produces around 450,000 b/d of crude, with exports having averaged around 415,000 b/d so far this year.

"The Kurdistan region exports its oil at prices that are less than Somo oil by $5/bl to $7/bl," finance minister Ali Allawi said, adding that 2021 budget — which is being discussed by the cabinet today — could be sent to parliament for approval within a week.

Negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad to resolve the dispute have taken place over the past two weeks. This, coupled with plans by the government to devalue the Iraqi dinar have delayed the approval of the 2021 draft budget required to kick-start much-needed economic reform.

By Rowena Edwards
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So how can the KRG generate more cash now / get a full share of the budget in future? Boost production, fast.

Zhyan English
@EnglishZhyan
·
1h
Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan Region President will visit Baghdad tomorrow (December 14) to sign a deal with the federal government: Iraqi media

Erbil blames Baghdad over wages as protests rage

ICG to bear the dues of the oil companies proposal - discussion tomorrow
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7/12/2020 20:28:00 PUK Media

The Iraqi Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, confirmed on Monday that there are signs of an agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding oil.

The Iraqi News Agency quoted Minister Abdul Jabbar as saying in a statement that there are ongoing efforts between the Iraqi federal government and the KRG, revealing that there are indications that 250 thousand barrels of the value of oil exported from the Kurdistan Region will be entering the federal budget.

For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, MP Shirwan Mirza, said in a special statement to PUKmedia, on Monday, that there are movements and dialogues between the federal government and the regional government to reach an agreement regarding the region's share in the budget, and the cabinet will discuss two proposals submitted by the regional government in this regard.

He pointed out that one of the proposals is to deliver 250 thousand barrels of oil per day and 50% of the border outlets' imports to the federal government in exchange for disbursing the region's share of the budget in full, provided that the regional government bears the dues of the oil companies, and the other proposal is to deliver the full amount of oil, which is 450 thousand barrels with revenues from 50 outlets, in exchange for a full share of the budget and for the federal government to bear the dues of oil companies.

He added that the federal government will discuss the two proposals at the cabinet meeting to discuss the budget bill for 2021, which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

12/06/2020 08:30:59

{Baghdad: Al Furat News} A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Faisal Al-Issawi, confirmed that the announced agreement between Baghdad and Erbil enables the Kurdistan region to obtain its full share of the budget, including the salaries of the Peshmerga in addition to the upcoming loans, indicating that there are parliamentary efforts to pay the financial obligations arising from The region is owed due to its resorting to borrowing for the years 2014 to 2018 due to Baghdad not sending the Kurdistan region’s share of the budget.
Al-Issawi said in a televised interview followed by Al Furat News, that “this agreement has been prepared since the beginning of this year, but the failure to approve the 2020 budget led to the delay in implementing the agreement until 2021.”
Regarding the content of the agreement, Al-Issawi said: “The Kurdistan region delivers 250 thousand barrels of oil per day or the value of this quantity, and half of the imports of border ports and customs, and in return it receives its agreed share of the entire budget, which is 12.7%.”
Al-Issawi described the agreement as “the beginning of a breakthrough and a real solution. We hope that the rest of the files related to OIL CONTRACTS, COMPANIES, previous debts and disputed areas will be resolved, so that the page of crises between the components of the Iraqi people will end, and everyone will live in safety and peace.”

Why haven't they tried enlisting the help of an honest third party to oversee the cash for oil swap between the KRG and ICG? The third party could make clear which government isn't playing by the rules.

Frustrating.

Rudaw, 15-11, D. S. Hussein

Erbil-The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has squandered the trust of Baghdad, but there is still time to reach an amenable budget deal, said a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament on Saturday who criticized the Kurdish bloc in Baghdad.
“The problem is that no one from the KRG is willing to promise to abide by any of the agreements with Baghdad,” MP Rebwar Karim, an independent, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman. “This has caused trust problems for the Iraqi parties and they refuse to give the KRG another deal to neglect.”

Early Thursday morning, after an all-night session, the Iraqi parliament passed the Fiscal Deficit Coverage Bill that funds salaries for civil servants in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for the last two months of this year. The bill passed with a majority vote, despite a walk out by the Kurds. Members of the Kurdish parties left the parliamentary session after arguments with Shiite bloc members regarding the 320 billion dinar ($268 million) monthly budget share of the Kurdistan Region.
Baghdad did not pass a budget in 2020 in the political vacuum after the resignation of former prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. It has instead paid its civil sector workers and sporadically sent funds to Erbil under the terms of the 2019 budget. The Fiscal Deficit Coverage Bill is meant to be a stop-gap for the final months of the year and Erbil had hoped to continue receiving its share. Baghdad, however, is demanding the KRG hand over oil and customs revenues, which it has failed to do despite previous agreements.

“The current plan is not a bad one, it gives space for the KRG to send their delegation to Baghdad to negotiate,” said Karim. “The plan could end up to the Kurdistan Region’s benefit given neither the amount of the budget share nor the amount of oil the KRG is supposed to hand over has been decided. The KRG could end up with much more than they initially asked for.”

Karim said the KRG “will get their money,” if they send to Baghdad 250,000 barrels of oil daily and half their income from the border crossings, as was agreed this summer. “If the KRG has sent these, then tell us and we will fight with the Iraqi government.”

Low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic have created a financial crisis that left Erbil unable to pay its civil servants without assistance from Baghdad, which also has empty pockets and has to borrow funds to make its payroll.
The Iraqi government has not yet sent Erbil money for October salaries and Karim warned it may not if a deal is not reached.

“The current bill cancels any other deal that was done before it, therefore unless the KRG and the Iraqi government come up with a new deal, there will be no money sent over by Baghdad,” he said, criticizing the way Kurdish representatives deal with such matters.

“They always try to leave things for the last minute, hoping they would convince the other parties under pressure,” he said. “This is not how represe

The feverish diplomacy of the summer months between the KRG and ICG has noticeably subsided in the past few weeks and I did find myself last week wishing for an attack on the Ceyhan pipeline, for the following reason;

Iraqi Kurdistan’s landlock location and its historic disagreements with the ICG to the south has meant it has had to rely on its other neighbours to get its oil to market. Syria to the west is still a warzone, Iran, to the east is subject to international sanctions so neither are viable export routes. The only remaining option therefore is export via Erdogan’s Turkey, which holds all of the cards in the relationship with the KRG. The KRG is utterly beholden to Turkey, which is able to bomb the region at will, safe in the knowledge that the ruling clans of Iraqi Kurdistan can be bankrupted with the closure of a single valve in Turkey, should they dissent, due to the region’s near complete economic reliance on oil exported via Ceyhan.

Reminding the KRG of this strategic folly is in the interests of forcing an agreement with the ICG, the reward being diversification of export routes, adding a second, to the south of Kurdistan.

If I was on team ICG, the more sly parts of my psyche would indeed come up with a plan to attack the vulnerable (over 400 mile long) Ceyhan pipeline and blame it on any one of the assortment of militants in the area. I recognise the similarities with a protection racket here, where a business pays for protection from a gang, only to find when they stop paying it is the very same gang the business needs protection from. I’m not saying that the ICG did attack the pipeline on this occasion but such action may well bolster their position in negotiations.

Whilst attacks on the pipeline will not do GKP’s share price any favours in the short-term, they could, perversely result in a more speedy political settlement with the federal government and provide the selling opportunity which so many of us LTHs are waiting for.

OCTOBER 13, 20208:05 AMUPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Iraq oil minister plans company to handle Kurdistan oil operations
By Reuters Staff

1 MIN READ

BAGHDAD, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Iraq’s oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar proposed to form a company tasked with managing upstream and oil exports operations in Kurdistan’s semi-autonomous region, state news agency INA cited as saying on Tuesday.

Talks between central government and the Iraqi Kurdish region on oil issues have reached a positive understanding, the agency quoted the minister, without providing details.

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Alan Mohtadi ??
@tawaksham
·
1h
Firm would be technically and administratively linked to Erbil and Baghdad
Erbil and Baghdad have positive understanding to resolve oil dispute #OOTT
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Would mean ICG recognition of the Kurdy Oil business, firing the starting pistol for M&A, one would expect.
:-)

Payraw Anwar
@PayrawAnwar
·
4h
Baghdad just sent 320 billion Iraq dinars to KRG. It's expected KRG to pay salary soon.
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Baby steps...

The Parliament reminds the government with the budget submission deadline
Iraq News
Parliament
2020-09-21 12:24

Shafaq News/ The Parliamentary Finance Committee reiterated to the Iraqi government the submission date of the 2020 budget.

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Faisal Al-Issawi, told Shafaq News agency, "The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers is conducting an audit of numbers, schedule, details, data and some amendments to the items of the general budget for 2020".

Al-Issawi explained, "the government has committed to refer the general budget to the parliament this week", "before the end of the week".

"The Parliamentary Finance Committee does not know these details as it is one of the government's duties. The details of the budget will be disclosed as soon as it reaches Parliament", he explained.

Committee member, Jamal Kocher had told Shafaq News agency that the general budget for 2020 has not yet reached the Council of Representatives and explained that the Parliamentary Finance Committee was unable to view its details before it reaches the parliament.

On September 14, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the draft federal budget bill for 2020, indicating that it was submitted to the Council of Representatives.

The Parliamentary Economic and Investment Committee revealed, earlier, that the federal budget deficit for 2020 amounted to 45%, indicating that it focuses on securing salaries and financing the ration card, as well as facing COVID-19 pandemic.

Contain your excitement! Its a meeting about a meeting!

Come to think of it though, one might expect some kind of wider Kurdish consultation / buy-in before any agreement with Baghdad.

ERBIL - Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Council of Ministers is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to review the developments on the Erbil-Baghdad relations.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani will chair the meeting, during which the council will highlight the outcome of Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi's meetings with the top Kurdish officials in Erbil.

According to the information BasNews has learned, issues related to the relations between Erbil and Baghdad, including the federal budget for the new year, will also be discussed during the meeting.

BasNews 2020/09/15 - 20:28 Kurdistan

An observation: In order for the KRG and its producers to cut dramatically at the behest of the ICG, would require the ICG to acknowledge validity of that production would it not? Otherwise it would be "We ask you to kindly cut some of the production we don't recognise any of" - sounds odd doesn't it?

The thing is, once Baghdad acknowledges the validity of the KRG production the ~10 dollar discount KRG oil is being sold at no longer applies, because everything is above board and the KRG are free to sell at open market price (assuming they're not tied in to a restrictive long-term sales contract).

A cut of 120K barrels /day would be about 1/4 of daily production, almost exactly nullified in KRG cash balance terms by the 10 dollars/barrel increase in sale price.

I think the board would leave themselves in a very vulnerable position if a sale went through without an honest account of the size of the total reserves, were the truth to come out later. The earlier (DGA) CPR would have been checked and double checked, you don't make claims of a monster field like that, endangering the reputation of a company without checking your facts, indeed in such circumstances a more conservative total is more likely in my view. It would seem that for political reasons the size of Shaikan has been played down, issuing figures for limited sections of the field only, but can this continue if bids are imminent? My guess is that when the politics are sorted with the ICG a new CPR will come out pronto stating that the billions of barrells lost down the back of the sofa have been found again.

In any case the big boys know what's down there now.

Basnews English 2020/09/09 - 16:58 Kurdistan

ERBIL — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is set to visit Kurdistan Region’s capital on Thursday, September 10.

Kadhimi will reportedly meet with top Kurdish officials to discuss a range of issues, among them the ongoing negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad on their prolonged oil and budgetary disputes.

This will be Kadhimi’s fist official visit to Erbil since he has taken office.

His trip also comes amid disagreements between Iraqi political factions over the election system designed for the upcoming snap polls in the country.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP): The coming period will witness the solution of all problems between Baghdad and Erbil
9/7/2020 19:11

The Kurdistan Democratic Party - The coming period will witness the solution of all problems between Baghdad and Erbil[Baghdad-Where]
Deputy of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Mahdi Abdul-Karim, on Monday, suggested that the coming period will witness the solution of all outstanding problems between Baghdad and Erbil.
And Abdul Karim explained, “a specialized delegation headed by the deputy head of the regional government will visit Baghdad to lay down the mechanisms for all the articles that have been agreed to develop working mechanisms and proposed solutions for them.”
He pointed out that “the Kurdistan Regional Government does not have any problem, and that it has a sincere intention to solve all problems whose continuation does not harm the interest of the region or the center.” A decisive solution to all outstanding problems between the two parties, “explaining that” all outstanding problems will be solved during the coming period. ”

alliraqnews.com

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I like the cut of this guy's jib, seems upbeat and ambitious - I could do with a pep talk from him when I'm lounging around the house in my underwear eating Twixes.

What happens when they run out of donkeys to talk the hind legs off?
Do we get an agreement??? I do hope so.

5-9-20

Middle East
KRG delegation in Baghdad Sunday to discuss ending 'outstanding issues'
Hiwa Shilani Hiwa Shilani |5 hours ago
KRG delegation in Baghdad Sunday to discuss ending 'outstanding issues'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-ranking delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will leave for Baghdad on Sunday to discuss solutions to the outstanding financial disputes between the KRG and the federal government of Iraq.

Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani will head the team. The visit follows technical consultations another KRG delegation, including top officials from the autonomous region's planning and finance ministries, held in Baghdad recently.

These talks focused on the financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region's government employees and confirming them in Iraq's draft 2021 budget law.

The head of Talabani's media office, Samir Hawrami, confirmed to Kurdistan 24 that the latest delegation would discuss the same issues with senior Iraqi officials, i.e., the federal budget law.

On Wednesday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani went to Baghdad, accompanied by another delegation, in a visit that coincided with that of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Nechirvan Barzani held a series of separate talks with Macron and senior Iraqi officials, shedding light on Erbil-Baghdad relations and ways to resolve longstanding disputes constitutionally.

There have been disagreements between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government over the general annual budget since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

The differences and outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad are based on the region's share of the financial budget, the entitlements of the Peshmerga forces, the export of oil, and the disputed areas covered by article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.

The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, stated in a previous interview with the Iraqi and Arab media that Baghdad sends less than 5 percent of the federal budget to the region.

"The best solution for each party to receive its due financial rights is to conduct a census in order to know how many residents of the Kurdistan Region and all the components of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and Christians, so we can determine what the region is entitled to, according to the percentage of the population out of the total revenues of the federal government," the premier said.

Editing by Khrush Najari