Iraqi Kurdistan, Stolen Oil, Expired Institutions, 35 Years of Failure

Photo: K24

Kurdistan’s Oil Became Companies’ Wealth, Not Its People’s Future

Sartip Jawhar | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translated from Kurdish Awene

Oil: From the Wealth of an Oppressed People to the Wealth of Companies

After 35 years, look at Iraq’s Kurdistan Region: it has no parliament, its government’s term has expired, it does not have a unified Peshmerga force, and its institutions have all exceeded their legal terms and have no clear legal identity or status.

It has lost its disputed areas, and the people of those areas, who made enormous sacrifices for their homeland, not only do not wish to return, but are actually thankful that they are no longer under the rule of the Region. Because now they have escaped a tragic situation.

Iraqi Kurdistan, Expired Institutions, Stolen Oil, 35 Years of Failure — Gasoline and diesel prices in Iraqi dinars at gas stations in the cities of Sulaimani, right, Erbil, center, and Duhok, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, August 6, 2026. Photo: Rojnews

Instead of wishing to live under the Kurdistan Region’s administration, today the people of the Region wish they could live in the disputed areas. This is because they have to buy a liter of gasoline for 2,000 Iraqi dinars, heating oil for 250,000 dinars, gas for 20,000 dinars, pay high prices for electricity and water, and whenever they go to any government office, they have to pay money outside the law… etc.

Worst of all, this Region, where its rulers once controlled and profited from its oil and gas, no longer even has proper control over them. In other words, its oil and gas have been handed over to companies and are no longer under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Today, Dana Gas officially, and without referring back to the Kurdistan Regional Government, has started selling gas to the Iraqi government. The Ministry of Natural Resources has also issued a shameful and embarrassing statement, admitting its own lack of authority and doing nothing except complaining without taking any action. Now, instead of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the companies themselves are negotiating with Baghdad.

Massoud Barzani with son Masrour Barzani Nov 18, 2025 — Tribal leader and KDP head Massoud Barzani, right, with his son, the caretaker prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Region, November 18, 2025. Photo: MEPS forum/X

Sadly, the oil that should have become the source of the Region’s strength and prosperity, and should have provided salaries and livelihoods for the people, is now generating income for the companies. On top of handing over the oil, Baghdad still sends the salaries while treating them as a burden. This is happening even though oil and gas are strategic resources for the future generations of Kurdistan.

Yet, the rulers have sacrificed them for their palaces, luxury, and their own survival, giving them away cheaply and carelessly. Instead of strengthening this entity, they turned its oil into a chain around its neck, making the Kurdistan Region and its people hostages of the companies. And if a country has ruined infrastructure and no ownership of its natural resources above and below the ground, then what is the meaning of its independence?

Based on what we see today, this Region that we once dreamed would have a bright future, instead of becoming independent and reaching stability and prosperity, now faces not only a difficult present but also a dark and ruined future. The rulers and yesterday’s revolutionaries have sold off both the land and the resources beneath it. Instead of development and prosperity, we have ended up sitting on Ali’s griddle.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on August 7, 2026, translated by iKurd.net.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of iKurd.net or its editorial team.