US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday that there is plenty of opportunity for the US and Iraqi Kurdistan to co-operate on oil and gas development.
Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani is in Washington to sign two agreements, with US companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros, worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes.
But the deals have drawn a quick condemnation from Baghdad's Oil Ministry, which considered them to be “null and void". Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil.
“I see great opportunity for American co-operation there as evidenced by the signing of these two deals, and we would love to see that commercial relationship grow and flourish,” Mr Wright told a conference in Washington.
Mr Barzani is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday to discuss expanding trade and investment between the US and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
“We support these deals, and we have encouraged Baghdad and Erbil to work together to get gas production to commence as soon as possible,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. “At the same time, we have, of course, the declaration that these are null and void right now. This is the kind of shenanigans that can be a problem.”
Ms Bruce said Mr Barzani's visit to Washington “signals our desire to strengthen the US relationship with the Iraqi Kurdistan region".
An Iraqi Oil Ministry official told Reuters that the signing of the agreements were conducted without Baghdad's knowledge and would impact efforts to resume the export of Kurdistan regional oil.
