Law No. 22 of 2007 - Oil and Gas Law of the Kurdistan Region - Iraq.

This Law, comprising 61 articles, regulates (i) petroleum operations, whether carried out by public companies or by private sector companies, whether Iraqi or foreign; (ii) all activities related to petroleum operations. Petroleum in the Region is owned in accordance with Article 111 of the Federal Constitution, which provides that oil and gas are the property of all the people of Iraq across all regions and governorates. The Regional Government is entitled to a share of revenues from fields that began production after 15 August 2005, in accordance with this Law. It shall oversee and regulate the marketing of its share of extracted petroleum at the Delivery Point, where title to the petroleum may be acquired, and may license third parties to carry out such marketing. The Regional Government shall receive its share of all revenues derived from petroleum operations for the benefit of the people of the Region. Article 4 establishes the Regional Council with the following functions (i) formulate the general principles of petroleum policy, prospect planning, and field development, and any modifications to those principles; (ii) approve Petroleum Contracts; (iii) limit production levels in the Region consistent with the provisions of Article 112 of the Federal Constitution.
The Law deals also with (i) public entities and companies, establishing independent public legal entities to manage the industry, such as KEPCO (Kurdistan Exploration and Production Company) focused on future fields, KNOC (Kurdistan National Oil Company) focused on current fields, KOMO (Kurdistan Oil Marketing Organisation) responsible for marketing petroleum, KODO (Kurdistan Organisation for Downstream Operations) managing infrastructure like refineries and pipelines, and KOTO (Kurdistan Oil Trust Organisation) responsible for receiving and managing revenues; (ii) cooperation with the federal government working together to manage existing oil fields and make important long-term policy decisions, and revenue sharing, establishing that all oil revenues should go into one central fund for Iraq, as long as the Federal Government ensures a fair share is properly allocated to the Region; (iii) authorizations and contracts, allowing the Minister to sign petroleum agreements with local and foreign companies under a standard production-sharing model - covering exploration periods, royalties, and cost recovery - while granting rights to build and operate necessary facilities; (iv) dispute resolution, establishing that disputes between the Minister and contractors that cannot be resolved through negotiation are submitted to international arbitration.