KRG Ministry of Natural Resources

London, UK (mnr.krg.org) - Political leaders, diplomats, international oil company representatives and industry experts will come together this week at a major annual conference in London on the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas sector.

KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabany, UK Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom and KRG Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami will address the conference, which takes places on 1st and 2nd December.

With the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exporting as much as 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day and making rapid progress on plans for gas production for domestic use and export to Turkey and Europe, the conference will discuss how to further develop the hydrocarbons sector for the benefit of the people of the Kurdistan Region.

The Kurdistan Region is emerging as an important crude oil exporter, and the direct oil sales are essential to fund the fight against ISIS, support 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced people, and pay government salaries. This has been made possible by the commitment of international oil companies (IOCs) who have continued to work in Kurdistan in challenging times.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is also emerging as a potential new supplier to the Southern Gas Corridor. The KRG is working with Turkish and Spanish companies to develop gas and export it to Turkey and then Europe. At the Atlantic Council Energy Summit earlier this month, Minister Hawrami said, “We have made progress on the ground and received encouragement from the international community regarding exporting our gas.”

Other speakers at the conference include, the head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa; the Governor of Kirkuk Dr Najmaldin Karim; US Department of Energy Resources official Sandra Oudkirk; Aslı Güven, Head of Energy Department at the Turkish Foreign Ministry; Angus McKee, UK Consul General to the Kurdistan Region; and Dr Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

International and Kurdish oil companies will also be represented at the conference, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Gazprom Neft, Genel Energy, DNO, Gulf Keystone, Western Zagros, Kar Group, Qaiwan Group and Renwa Group.

For more information about the conference, please see CWC Kurdistan-Iraq Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, http://www.cwckiog.com/