Iraq reaches major oil deal with Kurds
Iraq has reached a deal with the Kurdish government to exchange oil from the autonomous northern region for a nearly 20 percent share of the national budget, resolving a months-long impasse that had undermined national unity in the face of the Islamic State group's onslaught.
The agreement stipulates that the semi-autonomous Kurdish government will cede 550,000 barrels of oil per day to the Iraqi oil ministry, more than half of which will come from the disputed Kirkuk oil fields, according to Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari. In exchange, the Kurds will receive the 17-percent share of the national budget allocated to their region, plus installments of as much as $1 billion to boost the capabilities of Kurdish peshmerga fighters battling the militant group.
