INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin n°356 november 2014 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID) aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination) This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S. ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 356 November 2014 • IRAQ: AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ERBIL AND BAGHDAD ON OIL AND THE BUDGET • ERBIL: A BOMB ATTACK ON THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNORATE • SYRIA: KOBANI’S POPULATION IS BEING VICTIMISED BY BOTH THE IS AND TURKISH MINES • JUST BEEN PUBLISHED: IRAQI KURDISTAN — FROM TRIBES TO DEMOCRACY IRAQ: AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ERBIL AND BAGHDAD ON OIL AND THE BUDGET ar from slowing them 2015 the Erbil government and was expecting to receive the down, the difficulties of hoped to pass the level of price of the sale of another ten the war and the general 500,000 barrels a day, since three shiploads (Reuters). F instability of the region new oil fields should be produc - have pushed the Kurds ing by then. Ashti Hawrami The money earned by the still further on the way to eco - affirmed that the Kurds have “ no Kurdish oil sales is no longer nomic independence. Oil sales preferences in selling their oil ” and sent to Baghdad but is deposited from the Kurdish Government that the demand was greater in a Turkish bank. This spurred have continued to increase. On 7 than they could supply. About the Iraqi Foreign Minister, November, Ashti Hawrami, its 25 or 26 shiploads had already Ibrahim Al-Jaffari, while on a Minister for Natural resources left Ceyhan, and the sales total visit to Ankara to demand that announced that exports to the in November amounted to 20 these sums be sent to Iraq, port of Ceyhan, in Turkey, had million barrels. The volume adding that he knew that the reached almost 300,000 barrels a should have increased to 34 mil - money “ was in safe hands ”. day — official Turkish sources lion barrels worth about 2 billion However, the fact that relations giving the figure of 280,000 bar - dollars. The Minister further between Baghdad ands Ankara rels — at the end of October. He confirmed that his country had have warmed recently (they had added that by the beginning of already been paid for these sales cooled considerably during the • 2 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 356 • November 2014 period of the Maliki govern - sovereign fund, constituted by all resources? For the year 2014 had ment) does not mean that the income from energy sources. been a rude economic shock for Baghdad is likely to issue anoth - The project was ratified by Prime Erbil, suddenly confronted with er “ultimatum” as was its wont Minister Nêçirvan Barzani, after a Baghdad’s freezing the salaries of previously. Al-Jaffari’s message meeting of the Council of civil service (which was certainly was rather to affirm that there Ministers and will be submitted overmanned). This was then fol - was no crisis between Iraq ad to parliament in Erbil. lowed by the arrival of hundreds Turkey over the issue of Kurdish of thousands of refugees addi - oil, which is essentially an The new company’s activities tional to those of Syrian Kurds “internal” dispute between Erbil will cover all aspects of the oil and finally the attacks by the IS and the Iraqi central govern - and gas sectors, the signing of while its Peshmergas received no ment. contracts, the production and pay and were woefully lacking in operation, investment, export weaponry. Left to cope with the Moreover, whatever might be the and sales. The Prime Minister Da’esh danger on its own by both Iraqi government’s “demands”, also pointed out that “ this compa - Baghdad and Ankara (neither of Turkey is probably not prepared ny could become, after a while, a whom hastened to provide any to forego it’s access to Kurdistan’s public limited one, shares of which help) Iraqi Kurdistan does not resources to comply with may be bought by all the citizens ”. hide its determination to ensure Baghdad’s wishes. Thus, on 13 as quickly as possible its financial November, Genel Energy signed Finally, less than ten days after autonomy, faced as it is by a a new agreement with the KRG to the Massum-Barzani meeting, political and security atmosphere develop and operate two enor - the KRG announced, through its in the region that is unlikely to mous new gas deposits that spokesman, Safeen Diyazi, that calm down. might be able to supply Turkey an agreement had been reached with gas during the winter of with Baghdad and that the cen - According to Gareth Stanfield, an 2017/8. The reserves of the tral government had accepted to expert on Iraq at Exeter Miram and Bine Bawi fields are send Erbil over 500 million dol - University, this agreement was estimated at 11.4 trillion cubic lars in exchange for 150,000 bar - secured for the time being feet and with an estimated 2.6 bil - rels of oil per day that the because it was urgently needed lion dollars. Kurdish government is commit - by both Baghdad and Erbil: “ Both ted to supply. The agreement parties were in a very weak situation Meanwhile, on 5 November nego - was concluded in Baghdad fol - and this common weakness enabled tiations between Erbil and lowing a meeting between that them to find what is only a stop gap Baghdad began again in Erbil, fol - the Iraq Oil Minister, Adel measure ”(Reuters). lowing a meeting between the Abdel Mahdi, the Kurdish Prime new Iraqi President, Fuad Minister, Nêçirvan Barzani, and In any case, the differences are Massum, (who is, himself, a his Deputy Prime Minister, not ended — on 28 November Kurd) and Masud Barzani, the Qubad Talabani. It was the Kurdish Ministers of the Iraqi President of Kurdistan. Indeed, described as a “major break - government threatened to boy - the latter stated that their mini - through” by the Iraqi Finance cott the vote accepting the 2015 mum objective was to find “ a Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, (him - Budget id Baghdad sis not end its solution to the existing problems self a Kurd) who pointed out freeze of the budgetary payments between the central and regional gov - that Baghdad was going to to the Kurdish Region. ernments ”. renew paying its Kurdish civil servants their salaries. However, this agreement will cer - After its first reading, it became tainly not involve a step back - While this is certainly not the apparent that this budget still wards by the Kurds on their path first agreement reached between included financial sanctions towards economic emancipation. the Kurds and the Arabs in the against the Kurdistan Region On 12 November, the Kurdistan longstanding dispute. All had taken by the former Prime Government approved a project been simply provisional compro - Minister. The Iraqi Constitution for creating a company for the mises and most of them had grants 17% if the total Iraqi bud - operation and production of oil. never been carried out. This one, get to the Kurdish Region but the This company will not depend on too, had not dealt with the basic Erbil government also complains the central government and its issue: did or did not Iraq accept the that it has never received more shares will be sold to public bod - Kurds’ independence in the manage - than 11% — en on the occasions ies. It also set up a Kurdish ment of their hydrocarbon when it was paid at all … n° 356 • November 2014 Information and liaison bulletin • 3• Another dispute that has been Iraq through the Iraqi State com - Ceyhan. Hence their acceptance, pending for several years covers pany SOMO, in exchange for willy nilly, of a de facto situation the pay of the Peshmergas, that which Kurdistan will again created by the Da’esh capture of Baghdad has always left to the receive its original monthly bud - Mosul. As for the Kurds, this Kurds to cover, which the latter get of about a billion dollars. improvement in their finances have always attacked since the will enable them to pay the oil Peshmergas were, in the Iraqi companies that are drilling and Constitution, named as one of It should be noted that of the operating the oil on their land. the Iraqi national defence forces. 550,000 barrels a day, 300,000 At a time when the war effort will come from Kirkuk and the Another significant gain for is and the burden of Iraqi refugees remaining 250,000 from the that the Federal government will is being mainly born by the Kurdish Region as defined by its finally allocate part of its defence Kurds, these demands are still pre-2014 borders. While Iraq has budget to the Peshmergas. more pressing. not yet officially confirmed the According to Prime Minister this return of Kirkuk to the KRG, amounts to about a billion dol - Finally, another agreement pro - Baghdad, deprived of oil from lars, while al-Abadi’s cabinet vides for Erbil delivering 550,000 Mosul and its pipeline, can only mentioned, more vaguely “ a per - barrels a day to Ceygan port for export that from the Kurdish via centage of the Defence budget ”.