Remedial actions against oil sourced from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Issues of concern for companies claiming breach of a PSC

摘要

This essay's objective is limited. It examines basic provisions of production sharing contracts (PSCs) between international oil companies (IOCs) and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq (KRG) with an eye to whether language appears that could affect IOC claims prosecution in European or other fora where KRG-sourced oil or gas are then held. Three sets of provisions, in particular, are examined. While all are replicated in the actual PSC's struck between the KRG with its IOC partners, the first to be scrutinized is that contained in Article 20 of the KRG's Model PSC, and concerns the Kurds' assertion of title over KRG-sourced oil and gas. The second is the Model's Article 41, paragraphs (a) and (b), which waive immunity from prosecution for actions looking towards determinations of contractual illegality. And the third, Article 41, paragraph (c), provides a similar waiver in connection with remedial, penalty, or procedural actions. The essay concludes with a few brief comments on the relevance of other provisions appearing in the KRG's Oil and Gas Law of 2007.