Tensions rise over alleged intrusion at Kirkuk oil wells

Iraqi security forces at the Bai Hassan oil field on Oct. 19, 2017. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report)

KIRKUK/ERBIL - Iraq's state-run North Oil Company (NOC) has accused the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of deploying armed forces to control a handful of oil wells along its disputed boundary with federal Iraq.

The KRG has denied the accusations, but the controversy still has the potential to aggravate tensions with Baghdad that were already running high after the Federal Supreme Court issued a February ruling that undermined the legal foundations of Kurdistan's oil sector.