Oil services companies bow to Baghdad blacklist
Workers operate a drilling rig at the West Qurna 2 oil field in Basra. (ALI ABU IRAQ/Iraq Oil Report)
Two of the world’s biggest oil services companies have informed the Iraqi Oil Ministry that they will comply with a Federal Supreme Court (FSC) ruling invalidating the legal foundations of Iraqi Kurdistan's energy sector by not bidding for any new contracts in the semi-autonomous region without Baghdad’s approval.
The U.S. companies Baker Hughes and Schlumberger said in separate communications to Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Ismaael, copies of which were seen by Iraq Oil Report, that they would honor the ministry's demand to forego projects managed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), though they left vague their intentions regarding existing contracts.
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