Kurdistan Region of Iraq's Energy Industry

Kurdistan Region of Iraq: new alliances

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s oil and gas industry was late to take off, despite discoveries in the region beginning in the 1920s. However, the region proved highly successful in attracting major international operators from the mid-2000s onward, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Gazprom, Dana Gas and TotalEnergies. The Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region within Iraq, although it held a unilateral independence vote in 2017 to mixed international reception. Despite political upheaval and war, the Kurdistan Region has demonstrated resilience, though disputes over revenue flows and export arrangements have periodically affected payments to operators.

The region’s hydrocarbons sector is overseen by the Ministry of Natural Resources, which operates independently of Baghdad’s Ministry of Oil. However, the Kurdistan Region continues to face challenges arising from its independent oil and gas legal framework, which Baghdad has deemed unconstitutional and which has long been disputed in terms of national budget support and federal authority.

Heavy sour crude produced in the Kurdistan Region began to be exported to the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey in 2014 through the KRG’s pipeline network, including the DNO–Tawke pipeline. Exports were later halted following the Iraq–Turkey pipeline shutdown in March 2023, and discussions to restore flows have continued since, including agreements announced in late 2025 to enable resumption under revised arrangements.

Further gas pipeline infrastructure has also been planned to support the region’s intended rise in production. Alongside this, the Kurdistan Region requires investment to expand its power generation capacity in order to support a growing oil and gas industry, which remains the largest industrial consumer of energy.

In parallel with its hydrocarbons ambitions, the Kurdistan Region has begun positioning renewables as a strategic pillar of power-sector reform. The KRG has stated plans to significantly expand solar generation capacity over the coming decade, including a target of reaching around 3 GW of solar electricity by 2034, alongside efforts to attract private investment and improve grid performance.