Authority of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government with Respect to Exports of Natural Gas Products

摘要

Separate and apart from the various legal controversies, and court and arbitral disputes that continue to swirl around the matter of exports of oil, gas, and oil and gas derivative products from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, one enduring truth remains evident. The ambiguities inherent in the relevant provisions of the Iraqi Constitution, and the continuing absence of the enactment of any federal framework oil and gas law, complicate, not only for Erbil and Baghdad, but also for private companies, the establishment of clarity regarding the legalities of hydrocarbon business in the Kurdish north. As has been seen in the preceding pages, strong arguments can be made for the existence of KRG legal authority under the Iraqi Constitution to make or authorise the making of exports of oil and gas produced from fields over which the Kurds possess constitutional power, as well as for the production and export of LNG, LPG, and gas condensates. Nonetheless, that legal authority is not completely incontestable and without a shadow of a doubt. As a consequence, this provides both the source for constant adjudicative or quasi-adjudicative proceedings, and serves to undermine or restrain the activities of international companies desirous of partnering with the KRG to exploit its energy resource potential. As with all private enterprise, international oil companies value certainty and clarity, not ambiguity and doubt when it comes to legal regimes.