Foreign oil deal renews debate on Kurd autonomy
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-12-08-kurdish-oil_x.htmZAKHO, Iraq — The semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq has struck a deal with a foreign oil company to drill for oil in a mountainous region just outside this town. Kurdish leaders hope the new oil well will spur further exploration in the area and tighten the regional government's control over its oil wealth.
But the agreement has raised eyebrows in Baghdad, where Kurdish aspirations for autonomy are viewed critically by some Sunni and Shiite Muslims. It was the first time the Kurdish regional government contracted directly with a foreign company to explore for oil.
>>>>The Kurds reached an agreement with a Norwegian oil company, DNO, to build the rig about 12 miles from here in a mountainous region where black pools of oil seep effortlessly through the ground. The rig was unveiled in a ceremony last week.
>>>>The Kurds hope the DNO deal will jump-start production inside the Kurdish-controlled region, which historically has produced little. "We will find sufficient amounts of oil that it's commercially viable to exploit," said Magne Normann, the company's vice president.