Iraq’s federal government has roughly doubled the amount of its monthly transfer to the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) — a sign of a deepening relationship of interdependence between Baghdad and Erbil. Future payments are not guaranteed to remain so high. The 2019 budget law calls on the KRG to contribute 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of its independently managed oil production to the federal government’s exports – and if it fails to do so, there could be financial penalties.