ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region has pocketed over three billion dollars in the first three months of 2022 from oil revenue, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) media and information department, reaching a net income of over one billion dollars. The data from the KRG stated that the Region had exported over 34.3 million barrels of oil since the start of the year, at the average price of 85.4 dollars per barrel. The total revenue for the first three months of 2022 was estimated to be over three billion dollars, while the net income, following the repayment of debts to oil companies, operation costs, and pipeline costs, was placed at over 1.3 billion dollars. The KRG exported a total of nearly 80 million barrels of crude oil in the first half of 2021, collecting a net $1.7 billion, from a total revenue of 4.1 billion dollars. Iraq’s oil ministry claimed on Monday that US energy giants Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton had informed them of their decision to stop tendering for projects in the Kurdistan Region, adding that this comes in compliance with the Iraqi top court’s decision to outlaw the Region’s oil and gas law. It is unclear what effect this will have on the Region’s future revenue. The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court in February found the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas law to be “unconstitutional,” therefore striking down the legal basis for the independence of the Region’s oil and gas sector. The KRG responded to the decision, saying that the court’s ruling is not only “unconstitutional” but also “unjust.” According to the KRG’s annual report audited by Deloitte, over 152 million barrels of oil were exported throughout 2021 via the Kurdistan Export Pipeline. Sold at an average $59.459 per barrel, the Region’s oil made a revenue of nine billion dollars, with a net income of 3.965 billion dollars.
