Iran's a Distraction. The Urgent Problem Is Kurdish Oil - Bloomberg Gadfly

Iran's a Distraction. The Urgent Problem Is Kurdish Oil - Bloomberg Gadfly:

"The drama around President Donald Trump and Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal has grabbed the oil world's attention. This gaze should shift west. Rising tensions in northern Iraq could have a much more immediate impact on oil flows that could lead prices higher, and squeeze producers and refiners.The collapse of so-called Islamic State in Iraq ought to be a cause for celebration and national renewal. Instead, it has dragged the country to the brink of a civil war that, on top of the unnecessary human suffering, could cause the loss of more than half a million barrels a day of exports.The ousting of insurgents from their last strongholds in northern Iraq has brought the Iraqi military and Iranian-backed militias into direct contact with forces loyal to the Kurdish Regional Government in the oil fields around Kirkuk. Although these produce much less than the fields in the south of the country they are nonetheless important, both economically and strategically, to the Kurdish and Baghdad governments alike."



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