Taqa secures deal to search for oil in Iraq's Kurdish region

A state-controlled energy investment company in Abu Dhabi has secured a deal to search for oil in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region which is in dispute with the central government in Baghdad over scores of issues, inducing rights to develop natural resources.

In a statement issued late Friday, Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., known as Taqa, said an agreement was signed with General Exploration Partners Inc., an affiliate of the Denver-based Aspects Holdings LLC., to buy its 53.2 percent stake in the Atrush block exploration deal.

"Atrush is a highly prospective block in a new growth area with significant upside potential," Taqa Chief Executive Officer, Carl Sheldon, said in the statement. He gave no details on the financial terms of the deal, expected to be closed this month.

The block is located near Dahuk province, one of three provinces that make up the oil-rich Kurdish region in the country's north.  Dahuk is 430 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

The venture boosts Taqa's portfolio in the region. In April, it bought a 50 percent share in the 1,000 MW gas-fired power plant in the nearby Sulaymaniyah province, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

Taqa is majority owned by the oil-rich government of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, though more than a quarter of its shares are available to the public.

Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, successive Arab-led governments in Baghdad have been in a deep dispute with Iraq's Kurds over land, power sharing and rights to develop natural resources. The Kurds have unilaterally signed scores of oil deals with energy companies which Baghdad says are illegal.

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