Shahristani denies approval of US Company to explore oil in Kurdistan

Baghdad (NINA) - Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussein Al Shahristani, denied agreeing to a US Company operating in southern Iraq to explore oil in Kurdistan Region. Shahristani’s office issued a statement today saying "the news is altogether baseless, the Iraqi government will deal with any company violating the laws in the same way that it dealt with similar companies before." Shahristani explained "the Oil Ministry informed Exxon Mobil Company of this stance," calling on the media to "be careful and precise when conveying news.” An Iraqi satellite channels circulated that Shahristani agreed to a US company that won a contract to invest in one of Iraq's southern oil fields, to conduct oil drilling in Kurdistan. /End/