Independent sale of Kurdistan oil could break Iraq apart

[Lodestar]

1. I wonder if Iran was brought in on this deal in some way?

I always worry a bit for Turkey as they are simultaneously in the catbird's seat geographically but so vulnerable geopolitically,
trying to keep the peace from every angle with multiple interests pulling in every direction.

Well I should have done a search on this BEFORE posting my question. Indeed there IS an agreement with Iran!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/07/hold-kurds-oil-iran-idUSL6N0FU4LG20130807

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/21/iran-influence-iraqi-kurdistan

...This July, the Iranian first vice president welcomed the Iraqi Kurdistan minister of housing and development, amid announcements that a new bilateral trade agreement had been signed and that trade between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan was expected to surpass $4 billion in 2013. In 2000, before the war, the officially reported volume of trade was only $100 million.

But Iran still has some way to go to catch up with another regional heavyweight, Turkey. The historical relationship between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan is similar to Iran's. Like Tehran, there is deep-rooted hostility between Ankara and its Kurdish citizens. Like Iran and PJAK, Ankara has been embroiled in a long-running conflict inside Turkey with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a left-wing Kurdish movement whose leader, Abdullah Öcalan, is currently in prison. Like Iran, Turkey shelled, bombed, and even sent ground troops against PKK positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan in the aftermath of the US-led invasion.

Earlier this year, however, the PKK signed a ceasefire with Ankara and the two sides are engaged in peace negotiations. And Turkey has moved even more vigorously than Iran in investing in Iraqi Kurdistan, throwing its weight into politically important, big-ticket infrastructure projects. Half of all foreign companies registered in Iraqi Kurdistan are Turkish, and trade between Ankara and Erbil is $8 billion, double the Iranian figure. Oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan has attracted investment from the major international energy companies – and the largest oil producer in the region is the Turkish company Genel Energy, listed in London and run by former BP chief Tony Hayward.

Erbil is finalising the connection of its oil supplies to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries oil from Iraq proper to energy-hungry Turkey and the port of Ceyhan. At the end of October, Erbil announced its plans for a second pipeline that will directly link Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey, free from any interference from Baghdad. Even the ancient round citadel in Erbil bears the hoardings of 77 Construction group, a major Turkish-Iraqi joint venture.