Baghdad has begun implementing a three-month deal to enable payments for Kurdistan's civil servants, prompting political backlash.
Recent meetings show renewed efforts to set terms for reopening the export pipeline, but top-level political approval is hardly assured.
Three monthly loans of $538 million promise temporary relief to pay civil servant salaries, but unresolved questions loom for Kurdistan's oil industry.
Fayadh Nema and Falah Alamri have deep relationships in the Oil Ministry and decades of experience with hot-button energy issues.
Baghdad takes a hard line against budget transfers to KRG as negotiations falter, prompting civil servant strikes and imminent protests.
High-level diplomacy has failed to make progress, and a recent U.S. legal filing from Turkey suggests a new phase of adversarial action.
Imminent ministerial-level visits to Baghdad and Ankara are likely to address major challenges to restarting Iraq’s northern exports.
Increasingly frequent attacks deep inside KRG territory pose danger for civilians and underscore challenges for diplomacy.
A splintering of opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan is complicating efforts to meet Iranian demands for secure borders in order to avoid more drone and missile attacks.
Construction is underway on a new pipeline to bring gas supplies from the Khor Mor field up to Dohuk.
