Iraqi, Kurds locked in dispute over oil revenue since 2014 Kurds have been bypassing central government with oil exports Iraq’s prime minister agreed with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to start talks about crude output from northern regions that have been bypassing the central government to export oil. Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi reached an agreement with KRG Premier Nechirvan Barzani during a meeting in Baghdad to start “technical talks” between the federal oil ministry and the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources, according to an e-mailed statement from Al-Abadi’s office. The talks will focus on the production and distribution of crude from the Kurdish region and the adjacent Kirkuk area, it said. “Iraq’s prime minister stressed the necessity to boost oil output and for the Kurds to hand over oil exports from Kurdistan and Kirkuk to the federal […]