Iraq, the second-largest OPEC producer, may be facing a significant disruption to its oil exports this month. On September 25, citizens of the northern region of Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous area of Iraq, will vote in a referendum for national independence . If the referendum passes, as it is expected to, Kurdistan could begin proceedings to proclaim formal independence from Iraq, splitting the country in two. On Monday, the Iraqi prime minister Haider Al-Abadi called on the vote to be suspended until after the war against the Islamic State (IS) is concluded. Oil is at the center of it all. Kurdistan itself is rich in oil , possessing reserves equal to 45 billion barrels, and could potentially become a larger producer than Nigeria. According to figures from the KRG, Kurdistan currently exports about 600,000 barrels a day, though that number is difficult to account for. Other reports indicated it exports […]