$24 billion “compensation for foreign companies” in Kurdistan after Iraqi oil appeal rejected
$24 billion “compensation for foreign companies” in Kurdistan after Iraqi oil appeal rejected
2024-12-23 04:52
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi economic expert, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, revealed on Monday that nine foreign companies are demanding compensation amounting to 24 billion dollars resulting from the suspension of oil exports after the Iraqi judiciary rejected the appeal of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to cancel the contracts of these companies with the Kurdistan Region .
Al-Marsoumi said in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, “The Karkh Court of Appeal rejected the lawsuit of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and cancelled the previous court decisions that considered the contracts concluded between the Kurdistan Regional Government and foreign companies invalid .”
He explained that “the nine companies are: Addax, Dana Gas, DNO, Gazprom Neft, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone, HKN, Shamran, and Western Zagros .”
Al-Marsoumi pointed out that “these nine companies are demanding compensation amounting to $24 billion resulting from the suspension of oil exports .”
The Karkh Court of Appeal rejected an appeal submitted by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and overturned previous rulings that declared the contracts of foreign companies with the Kurdistan Region invalid .
According to the court, contracts are considered “valid,” enforceable, and binding on both parties, and no party outside the contract has the right to object to them, even if they are based on a legal basis that the Federal Supreme Court in Iraq deemed unconstitutional in February 2022 .
The court explained in the reasons on which it relied that the decision of the Federal Supreme Court issued in February 2022 cannot be applied to contracts concluded before its issuance, in accordance with a general principle in Iraqi civil law .
shafaq.com
