– A spokesperson for Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy announced that the Council of Ministers will read the report of the joint committee in charge of the oil file between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad.

Faisal Abdullah said: "The joint committee formed by the Council of Ministers for investigating oil issues between Baghdad and Erbil had a meeting yesterday without Iraq's Minister of Finance Rafia Isawi. The committee will have another meeting tomorrow."

Abdullah added the committee will read its report in the Council of Ministers’ meeting tomorrow. The council had been given 14 days to prepare its report, reported the media center.

On June 10 the Council of Ministers decided to form a committee to investigate the Kurdistan Region's oil production and export size.

Oil giant Exxon Mobli angered Baghdad when it signed exploration agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The federal government considered this as illegal.

The KRG announced in November that it had signed an agreement with Exxon to explore six sites. Exxon was considered to be the first major oil company to deal directly with the KRG.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry signed a contract with Exxon and Shell in October 2010 to develop the West Qurna field.