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Politics

Political disunity clouds KRG fiscal and energy outlooks

Deadlocked talks over forming a new regional Cabinet highlight a bitter rivalry between two ruling parties that poses risks to Kurdistan's economy and energy sector.
PUK President Bafel Talabni (left) meets with KDP President Massoud Barzani (right) on Sept. 27, 2025. (Photo credit: KDP presidency office)
Mar 4, 2010

Iraq’s next oil minister

Any of these candidates for the oil portfolio in the next government have a massive task in reconstruction and expansion that will make or break the country.

Mar 4, 2010

The dark horse in a blue suit

A top oil ministry technocrat who survived deBaathification (twice) and defended Baghdad's Daura refinery against insurgents is running a long-shot bid for Iraq's vicious parliament.

Mar 1, 2010

Iraq in the Crude World: Part 2

A stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it.

Feb 22, 2010

Iraq in the Crude World: Part 1

A stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it.

Feb 17, 2010

Iraq’s Oil Politics: Where Agreement Might Be Found

In Iraq, oil contracting and revenue sharing are not simply technical or commercial matters but rather proxies for differing conceptions among Iraq’s communities of the country and their place within it.

Feb 10, 2010

2010 budget boosts oil-producing provinces

The $72bn budget awards dollars to oil-producing provinces and sites of pilgrimage. A stern warning is issued to Kurdish authorities in the form of penalties for cutting off exports.

Feb 8, 2010

Chaos looms over elections

Protests on the streets of Baghdad as election campaigning delayed and courts rush through appeals of banned candidates

Feb 8, 2010

Oil workers protest in Basra

Dispute over labor law, attacks on workers, mark ongoing tension between Iraqi oil workers and the government.