-Oil producers operating in Iraqi Kurdistan are to receive an initial payment of $75 million this month for export sales this year, the region’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement Friday. The news strongly boosted the shares of Kurdish-focused exploration and production companies such as Genel PLC (GENL.LN)and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP.LN), which have come under pressure this year as a result of the Islamic insurgency buffeting Iraq’s North and an ongoing dispute over oil sales with Baghdad. The political tensions between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government has left the KRG struggling to meet its payment obligations to companies operating there after Baghdad cut off its budget payments at the start of the year. However with the start of oil exports in January, the region is taking steps to move towards greater financial autonomy. According to the MNR, Iraqi Kurdistan […]