- Iraq is working to cancel Total's small share in the Halfaya oilfield after the French company announced it signed agreements to develop oil in autonomous Kurdistan, a senior Iraqi oil official said on Wednesday.

"We are working to cancel Total's stake in the Halfaya contract. We will disqualify and terminate the contract of any company signing a deal with the Kurdistan region without the approval of the oil ministry," said Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the ministry's contracts and licensing directorate.

Iraq's central government says oil deals signed with the country's Kurdistan region are illegal. Total announced on Tuesday it had agreed to buy a stake in two blocks in the region, angering Baghdad















Reuters