Longtime energy MP talks about U.S. pressure on Baghdad and Erbil, the blame he places on KRG oil tactics, and the upside of the sitting oil minister entering elections.
Budget transfers to Kurdistan have been frozen since May as negotiations to restart oil exports falter.
A barrage of drone attacks in the past four days highlights rising security threats stemming from regional conflicts and Baghdad-Erbil political tensions.
Production and exports have not suffered major interruptions so far, but exodus of foreign oil workers and border closures highlight risks of disruption.
Recovery at Rumaila and surging Kirkuk fields power slight increase in national production.
Ali Salman Majeed is named interim head of the state company responsible for boosting domestic gas supply and ending flaring in southern Iraq.
Exports fell by 87,000 bpd month-on-month as Iraq signaled its intention to adhere to production pledges and support global oil prices.
Political tensions skyrocket after recently announced gas deals, resulting in legal challenges and threats to Kurdistan's budget.
Basra's Tuba oil field is the centerpiece of a Chinese-Iraqi consortium's mega-deal that includes upstream, refining, petrochemicals, and power generation.
Iraq is expanding its port capacity, including a fast-track project to import liquefied natural gas in time for this summer's peak electricity demand season.
U.S. firms HKN and WesternZagros have signed agreements for upstream gas development at the Miran and Topkhana fields.
