Iraq expels Turkish company from oil exploration deal

Iraq has expelled Turkey’s state-owned energy firm TPAO from a consortium that clinched an exploration contract this year in southern Iraq.

“For reasons to do with non-technical issues and outside the responsibility of my office and me personally… the Turkish company TPAO was excluded from the consortium,” Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of Iraq’s contracts directorate, said in Baghdad on Wednesday.

In May 2012, Iraq awarded the oil exploration deal in the oil-rich Basra province to Kuwait Energy (40 percent stake), TPAO (30 percent stake) and the United Arab Emirates’ Dragon Oil (30 percent stake).

“This decision is final, there is no approval to sign the contract for Block 9,” he added, referring to the exploration block in south Iraq. “The decision (to expel TPAO) is from the cabinet.”

“The cabinet rejected the approval of Turkey’s TPAO as a partner,” he stated. “Removing TPAO has no connection with Kurdistan deals. We know TPAO has no deals in Kurdistan. But this decision was taken for other reasons.”

Turkey is importing oil from the Iraqi Kurdistan region without Baghdad’s agreement and despite repeated statements from the Iraqi government, stressing that all oil contracts in the country, including in the Kurdish region, must go through the central government.

Ankara-Baghdad relations turned sour last year after Ankara expressed support for fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who faces terrorist charges in his country, and gave him refuge.

The two countries are also at odds over the Syrian unrest. While Turkey has become one of the main supporters of anti-Damascus insurgents, Baghdad has refused to join calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.