Washington, DC, USA (us.gov.krd) – On Thursday June 30, KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman joined a panel discussion at the public launch of a report commissioned by the US Department of Energy that outlines the potential of the Kurdistan gas sector.

In 2020, the Department of Energy commissioned Qamar Energy to carry out a study of the Kurdistan gas market, its potential within Kurdistan Region and Iraq, its position within the regional and global market, and to make policy recommendations. The finalized report was launched this week and the virtual panel discussion brought together the perspectives of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the US government, and the private sector investors in Kurdistan's energy sector.

The panel discussion was hosted by Columbia University's Center for Global Energy Policy and was moderated by Robin Mills, chief executive of Qamar Energy. The other speakers were Jim Jewell, Deputy Director for Middle East and African Affairs at the US Department of Energy, and Mohammad Makkawi, Executive Director for Projects at Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas.

Ms. Abdul Rahman welcomed the report and thanked the Department of Energy for initiating it. She said that American companies and government institutions have played an important role in Kurdistan's oil and gas sector, which has created jobs in both places. She noted that the Kurdistan Region is under political and legal pressure from the Iraqi federal government regarding its oil and gas law, but that Kurdistan and its investor-partners had weathered worse storms. She said that Kurdistan would not renege on its constitutional rights and was looking for dialogue and a win-win situation with the federal government. The KRG will review the gas study.

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