U.S. Sanctions Will Not Impact Russian Oil Companies Operating in Kurdistan Region, Iraqi Lawmaker Says

ARK News.. U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies will not affect their operations in the Kurdistan Region, despite influencing a notable share of Iraq’s national oil output, according to a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee.

On Thursday, Sabah Subhi, a member of the committee in the Fifth Parliamentary Session, stated that the sanctions impact nearly 9% of Iraq’s oil production, particularly affecting operations at major fields run by Russian companies.

Subhi explained that Lukoil, one of Russia’s largest oil firms, will no longer be able to continue production at the West Qurna 2 field, which has a capacity of 450,000 barrels per day. He added that Iraq is moving to hand over the field’s operations to a national state-owned company to secure stable output and protect state revenues.

The lawmaker noted that the United States aims to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, especially as Russian and Chinese oil companies expand their roles. In contrast, American firms are working to reinforce their position in the Iraqi energy sector.

According to Subhi, Russian companies have limited activity in the Kurdistan Region, making the sanctions ineffective in that part of Iraq. Despite Russia’s Rosneft owning a stake in Kurdistan’s oil sector, exports from the region to Turkey’s Ceyhan port will continue uninterrupted.

He clarified that since Rosneft’s share in Kurdistan oil operations is below 50%, the U.S. sanctions—which target companies with majority Russian ownership—will not apply in practice.

The United States recently imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, part of broader measures aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The sanctions apply to all Russian companies with more than 50% ownership and are scheduled to take effect at the beginning of next month.

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