Kurdistan presidency rejects Iraq federal court's oil and gas ruling

LONDON - The Kurdistan Region's presidency in Iraq rejected on Monday a federal court ruling on its oil and gas activities, and said the region would continue to exercise its constitutional rights on the matter.

Earlier this month, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude supplies.

The Kurdish regional government (KRG) has been developing oil and gas resources independently of the federal government, and in 2007 enacted its own law that established the directives by which the region would administer these resources.

The Kurdistan Region's four presidencies met in Erbil on Monday to discuss the court ruling, which they deemed "unacceptable".

"The Kurdistan region will exhaust all available means in order to safeguard the Kurdistan region's constitutional power and rights," the Kurdistan region presidency said in a statement, which also suggested the ruling is linked to political disputes over the election of Iraq's new president.

"[The ruling] is driven by special interests, especially at a time when Iraq is moving through a critical political stage," the statement said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will continue to discuss the issues regarding the oil and gas law with the federal government, the presidency said.

The Kurdistan region produced 425,000 barrels per day of oil in January, according to a document by state-owned marketer Somo seen by Reuters.

KRG crude is exported through a pipeline that runs from Iraq's Kirkuk region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.