The Kurdistan Region in Iraq is currently faced with several challenges that put at risk its stability and energy sector, but the risks go beyond the borders of Kurdistan and Iraq and are a national security imperative for the United States and Europe.
The recent Iraqi Federal Court ruling against the Kurdistan Region’s Oil and Gas Law and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil’s rash pursuit of international oil companies, including American IOCs, could potentially put over 450,000 bpd of oil at risk of disappearing from the market. This at a time when most countries around the world are facing a deepening energy crisis. At the same time, the Kurdistan Region has been hit by drones and shelling from rogue Iraqi militia groups, Turkish shelling, and Iranian ballistic missiles.
An unstable and economically crippled Kurdistan Region would not only harm the Kurdistan Region, the rest of Iraq but also the international energy supply and security outlook.
Who: Eli M. Gold, President, Gold Institute for International Strategy
Victoria Coates, Distinguished Fellow in Strategic Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council
Entifadh Qantdar, President, Future Foundation
Nahro Zagros, Senior Fellow, Gold Institute for International Strategy and President of Kurdistan24 Research and Survey Center
