The Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, said on Monday that the region has the ability to make up for some of the energy shortage, at least in Europe.
Barzani stressed, during an energy conference in Dubai, that Iraqi Kurdistan will soon become an important source of energy that will contribute to meeting global demand and will be exported to Turkey in the near future.
“I am confident that Kurdistan will soon become an important source of energy while demand grows in the world,” he said.
He added, “We will become a net exporter of gas to the rest of Iraq, to Turkey, and to Europe in the near future.”
Barzani stressed that the Kurdistan government remains committed to the contracts signed with oil and gas companies, and is in a position to help other countries in the region.
He added, “We in Kurdistan, we have the ability now to compensate at least some of the shortage of oil in Europe, if our partners in Baghdad are willing to work with us,” according to what was quoted by “Archyde.com”.
The semi-autonomous region has untapped oil reserves, lucrative production-sharing contracts and a secure environment that have prompted international oil companies over the past few years to pledge billions of dollars to invest there.
But the Federal Court of Iraq ruled last month that an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan was unconstitutional, and demanded that the Kurdish authorities hand over crude supplies to the federal government.
Barzani described this decision as a “grave injustice.”
Barzani said last month that he discussed “huge gas potential” in Kurdistan, during a meeting with the Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Al-Kaabi.
He said on Twitter that teams from the two governments also discussed investment in energy, renewable resources and regional energy cooperation.