"International Energy Agency" recently published an energy-report for Iraq. For the Kurdish region in Iraq they foresee this Oil-Output: - 500-800 thousand barrels / day in 2020. - 750 - 1.200 thousand barrels / day in 2035. http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2012/iraqenergyoutlook/Fullreport.pdf This is not really much. And the Oil from KRG would match quantities of BTC-Pipeline (from Azerbaijan) only around 2035. There won't be an Oil-income in the scales of Saudi-Arabia. Currently, the KRG has oil-output of around 240.000 barrel / day. 90% of that Oil-Output comes from 2 oil-fields where a Turkish company has stakes in. UPI.com In one of those 2 fields it is the operator and in the other it has a stake of 25%. It is involved in 5 more Oil-fields: Genel Energy - Snapshot of Genel Energy KRG recently signed some energy-exploration deals with some major international Oil companies. Most notably EXXON. Now there's talk, that Turkish State Oil-company TPAO will partner EXXON in these oil-exploration deals. Reuters Reason is very simple, there needs to be an export-pipeline. Otherwise the Turkish company can not export the Oil into Turkey, and the agreements between KRG and International-Oil companies will remain "ink on paper" and not much more. EXXON will hardly invest there and export the Oil by aircrafts.
Turkey is leading investor in KRG's energy-industry, has its hands on KRG's economic future and will also control its export options. USA left Iraq without granting the Kurds independence. USA didn't leave a military-base behind. USA also didn't gave them Abrahams or Apaches.
Until west (syrian) Kurdistan is completly freed, we have to do business with your Turkey. But more importantly, just leave us to handle our own problems. It's your country occupying a big piece of Kurdistan.
And a bonus lesson: South Kurdistan has a great and working economy, and with west Kurdistan gaining access to the sea, we will have no need for you either
Stratfor There's military base of Turkey in North-Iraq. Now we have come to take our Oil with our Oil companies dominating the energy-industry there. Cheap oil for our growing economy and our troops will protect the export pipeline. If Barzani does not play by our rules, we'll shut-down North-Iraq.
The turkish army are there due to an agreement made between them and Barzani's PDK. They we're meant to fight for him in the kurdish civil war (A terrible part of our history) But don't worry, when south Kurdistan declares independence, they will be kicked out