النزاع النفطي والاستفتاء الكردي

A security guard is seen at the Tawke oil refinery near the village of Zacho, in the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, on May 31, 2009. Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region will begin exporting crude oil for the first time on June 1, piping up to 90,000 bpd to its neighbours, officials said. Initial exports will be around 40,000 barrels per day from the Taq Taq field in the province of Arbil and another 50,000 bpd from the Tawke field in Dohuk, company officials told AFP. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)