The Effects of Baghdad Politics on Kurdistani Gas Prospects
This paper examines the effects of internal Iraqi politics on the potential for exporting Kurdistani natural gas. It examines Baghdad’s policy with regards to both oil and gas, and predicts what effects it will have on Kurdistan’s gas prospects.
This paper will examine the impact of internal Iraqi politics on Kurdistan’s gas market. It will look first at the legal aspects of gas, particularly in the Constitution, and find that gas in Kurdistan and throughout Iraq is theoretically nationalised and inaccessible to outsiders. This is partially corroborated by the current Kurdistan oil situation (which is given identical treatment to gas in the Constitution), where the Baghdad government is refusing to recognise bilateral deals between the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) and investors, and is blocking exports. However, as will be shown, there are divisions within the government, and its policy is by no means set in stone. Moreover, the government is currently pursuing a more lenient national policy for gas than for oil, which should be considered cause for tentative optimism among investors in Kurdistani gas.
Available in:
Regions and themes
Share
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
The Effects of Baghdad Politics on Kurdistani Gas Prospects
Center for Energy & Climate
Ifri's Energy and Climate Center carries out activities and research on the geopolitical and geoeconomic issues of energy transitions such as energy security, competitiveness, control of value chains, and acceptability. Specialized in the study of European energy/climate policies as well as energy markets in Europe and around the world, its work also focuses on the energy and climate strategies of major powers such as the United States, China or India. It offers recognized expertise, enriched by international collaborations and events, particularly in Paris and Brussels.
Mining Nationalism and Export Restrictions: The Challenges of Economic Development
Since the end of the 2000s and especially the 2010s, resource nationalism has been on the rise.
Solar Radiation Management: A Climate Tool with Geopolitical Implications
The Paris Agreement (2015) aims to keep global warming below 2 °C, preferably 1.5 °C, above pre-industrial levels. Mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) remains the core tool for reaching net carbon neutrality by mid-century. However, a temperature overshoot is anticipated. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) forecasts that the 1.5 °C threshold will be exceeded in the coming years, with warming potentially peaking between 2.2 °C and 3.6 °C this century. Against this backdrop, three trends characterize the climate policy debate.
China’s Hydrogen Economy Five Years On
China’s hydrogen sector is not new. It is the world’s largest industrial hydrogen system, rooted in ammonia, methanol, refining, coal chemicals and by-product gas streams.
27 Plans for 2027: Turning the Electrification Action Plan into National Action
With the aim of structurally reducing the European economy’s dependence on fossil fuel imports and accelerating the energy transition, the European Commission has opted for electrification.