Baghdad court declares four KRG oil contracts void

The Karkh Commercial Court in Baghdad purported to annul four of Iraqi Kurdistan's oil contracts Monday, as the federal Oil Ministry intensifies its push to implement February's landmark ruling against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its oil sector independence.

In a hearing that was closed to the press, the Commercial Court handed down rulings declaring that four of the KRG's oil contracts are invalid, according to a senior Oil Ministry official. Multiple industry officials with second-hand knowledge of the proceedings said the defendants in the four cases decided Monday are Norway's DNO, UK-listed Genel, Canada's Western Zagros, and the U.S. firm HKN.