Kurdistan oil for revenue dispute looms large after emergency financing bill passage

BAGHDAD/ERBIL/SULAIMANIYA - Iraq's Parliament approved a 12 trillion Iraqi dinar ($10.2 billion) stop-gap borrowing law early on Thursday morning — an essential measure to remain solvent through the rest of this year, which has also become a flashpoint for revenue-sharing disputes with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

The oil-dependent country with a bloated workforce is suffering through a decline in the oil price and delaying paychecks to even the most essential civil servants. Political disputes derailed a 2020 budget, forcing Iraq to rely on the basic frameworks of the 2019 budget and a series of measures to draw from currency reserves and other borrowing.