Over the past 12 years, Turkish energy companies have moved into the Kurdish energy sector at great pace in line with the sector’s rapid expansion under the semi-independent government in Erbil. Energy cooperation between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Turkish government is the single greatest factor for energy companies’ involvement in the region and the commercial realization of this cooperation is no doubt the result of high-level political alignment. The recent downturn in the global petroleum market, the outbreak of war in North-Western Iraq, and internal political tensions have dampened investors’ expectations vis-à-vis energy sector viability in Iraqi Kurdistan. However, questions still remain as to which parties were the key beneficiaries of energy cooperation and how some of the most lucrative contracts were negotiated during the sector’s peak – many of these parties are primed to benefit should the industry pick up again. Humble Origins The KRG […]