American oil company Hess Corp. and its Irish partner Petroceltic International finalized two production contracts for blocks in Iraq's Kurdistan region, the latest of more than 40 oil deals signed by the Kurds despite unresolved disputes with Baghdad over oil development rights.
Both Hess and Petroceltic announced the agreements, which will see Hess as the operator and, according to a Hess statement, "64 percent participating interest and 80 percent paying interest in the blocks, located northeast of Erbil," the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
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