The Turkish energy minister has arrived in Iraq to discuss Ankara's energy deals with Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region that the central government says are illegal.

Taner Yildiz will meet on Sunday with Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy, to discuss the latest developments with a pipeline between Basra and Ceyhan.

"The energy deals between Ankara and (the) Kurdish Regional Government will also be discussed," an official at Turkey's energy ministry told the Reuters news agency.

Turkey's courtship of the Kurdish region has infuriated the central government in Baghdad, which says it has the sole authority to manage Iraqi energy resources.

Shahristani said on Thursday that any energy deal with Arbil would be "an encroachment on the sovereignty of Iraq".

Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a multi-billion-dollar energy package last week, sources close to the deal said on Friday that will help transform the Iraqi region into an oil and gas powerhouse.

Turkey's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Ankara and Arbil had "agreed on some trade deals" but had yet to finalise them and said Turkey would seek Baghdad's cooperation on the issue.

Fears of a break-up

Baghdad says Kurdish efforts towards oil independence could lead to the break up of the country and the dispute has also caused concern in Washington.

It remained unclear whether Yildiz will then travel to Arbil to attend an energy conference to be held this week, the official said, and added that the decision would be made in line with developments.

It will be Yildiz's first visit to Iraq since his plane was denied permission to land by Baghdad late last year when he tried to attend an energy conference in Arbil.

Turkey, hungry for energy and dependent on imports for almost all of its needs, says Iraqi Kurdistan's resources will help diversify its energy supplies and reduce its ballooning $60bn annual energy bill.

Reuters