UPDATE: Baghdad issues new legal threats to block Kurdistan exports

Letter from Iraq's oil marketing company warns of "firm legal action" against participants in the KRG's independent oil trade.

Alaa al-Yassiri, director general of SOMO, at his office in April 2022. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report)

Ben Van Heuvelen and Ben Lando of Iraq Oil Report

Thursday, August 25th, 2022

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include an Aug. 26 statement issued by the KRG in response to SOMO’s letter.

Iraq's Oil Ministry is threatening to take aggressive international legal action to stop the Kurdistan region from continuing to export crude oil independently of Baghdad.

In a letter sent to oil traders and other crude buyers dated Aug. 23, which was obtained by Iraq Oil Report, Alaa al-Yassiri, the head of Iraq's federal oil marketing company (SOMO), warns that Iraq is planning to take "firm legal action... against all parties involved, in order to block loadings of those unlawful cargoes originating from Iraq including but not limited to those from Kurdistan Region."

UPDATE: Baghdad issues new legal threats to block Kurdistan exports

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