US warned ExxonMobil of Kurdistan deal risk

Derek Brower, LONDON: Confusion about ExxonMobil’s contract in Kurdistan mounted on 14 November. The US State Department warned the company about “significant political and legal risks” if it signed a deal before the semi-autonomous province and Iraq’s central government agreed on how to share revenue from oil and gas production. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed over the weekend that it had signed the contract with the US supermajor in mid-October. But as details of the deal emerged, the State Department refused to say if it had given ExxonMobil a green light to pursue the deal. Several sources, including one diplomat familiar with Western international oil companies’ (IOCs) negotiations with the KRG, said ExxonMobil’s move would have been impossible without the support of the US government. But in statement to Petroleum Economist, the State Department said it “continue[d] to advise the companies that speak with us, including ExxonMobil, of the significant...