Here’s a simpler, clear breakdown of what Gulf Keystone Petroleum reported for 2025:
Gulf Keystone published a report showing how much it paid to the government while operating in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. These reports are required by UK rules so companies stay transparent about money flowing to governments.
All of these payments are linked to its main project, the Shaikan oil field, and were made to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), mainly through its Ministry of Natural Resources.
Now let’s break down the numbers in a simple way.
In 2025, the biggest portion of payments came from what’s called “production entitlements.” This is basically the government’s share of the oil produced. Instead of paying cash, the company gives a portion of oil. That share was about 5.67 million barrels, worth around $199 million.
On top of that, there are royalties. These are also paid in oil, not cash. In 2025, royalties were about 1.21 million barrels, valued at roughly $40.6 million.
There were also other payments like license fees, security costs, and support for local capacity building. These added up to about $10.3 million.
In total, Gulf Keystone’s payments to the government reached around $250 million for the year, including nearly 6.9 million barrels of oil.
Another important point is how the oil was sold. Until late September 2025, the oil was sold locally, and the KRG directly received and sold its share. After that, exports shifted to international markets through the pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey. Even then, the government still received its share of oil under the same agreement.
Some of the smaller payments, like capacity-building costs and certain fees, weren’t paid directly in cash. Instead, they were deducted from oil sales or recorded as obligations to be settled later.
In simple terms, most of what the government receives from this project isn’t cash—it’s oil. The company produces it, and the government takes its share and sells it.
Overall, the report shows how heavily Iraq’s regional government depends on oil-sharing agreements like this, where revenue comes directly from production rather than traditional payments.
