Iraq declares Korean oil deal with Kurds illegal

[sabra]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq's oil minister told the South Korean ambassador on Thursday that an oil deal last year between Seoul and the Kurdish regional government is illegal.

"The minister said the signing of this contract is against Iraqi law and its constitution," Hussein al-Shahristani told Ha Tae-yun during a meeting in the capital.

The billion-dollar agreement was signed last June between Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan and state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC), and Korea's largest refinery, SK Energy.

The firms were to have access to eight oilfields believed to hold 7.2 billion barrels of untapped crude. Five of the fields are located near the capital Arbil in northern Kurdistan.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090402/wl_mideast_afp/iraqskoreakurdsoil_20090402125018

[stillcool]

1. oh dear...