Iraq’s Kurdish region rejects ruling imperiling oil sector

By SALAR SALIM and SAMYA KULLAB

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has rejected a ruling by the Supreme Court in Baghdad that ordered it to end its oil sector’s de facto independence. Regional Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told reporters on Thursday that the surprise Feb. 16 decision to annul Kurdish oil and gas law was “political” and violated the country’s constitution. Defiant of Baghdad’s wishes, the Kurdish region manages its oil sector independent of the federal government, signing contracts with foreign companies and collecting revenues that it does not share. The Supreme Court decision essentially struck down the legal justifications for that oil policy, calling into question the future of the region’s main source of funds.