Iraq enforces KRG blacklist policy against four oil service companies

BAGHDAD - Iraq's state-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC) has told international oil companies not to work with four major oil services companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan — the first sign that the federal government is enforcing a blacklist policy created in the aftermath of a major February court ruling that invalidated the legal foundations of Kurdistan's energy sector.

In a memo dated July 28, 2022, addressed to “all lead contractors,” BOC Director General Khalid Abbas orders recipients “to suspend dealing with the following subcontractors and never invite them to any future works or projects in BOC oil fields as per the licensing contracts signed with your companies.”