PARIS/ARBIL, Iraq, June 17 (Reuters) - Total has bought an 80 percent stake in the Iraqi Kurdish exploration block Baranan in a move that reinforces the French oil major's position in the semi-autonomous region where crude reserves are plentiful.
The Kurdistan Regional Government will own the remaining 20 percent, a Total spokesman said.
"This participation in an operated exploration block was contemplated at the time Total made its move in Kurdistan during the summer 2012," Total said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
In the summer 2012, the French major bought a 35 percent stake in the Harir and Safen exploration blocks in Kurdistan, where contract terms are more attractive than in the southern part of the country.
The move drew at the time an angry response from Iraqi authorities, who warned Total, which has a stake in the Halfaya oilfield in the southern Missan province, that it would be forced to sell it if it did not cancel or freeze deals with Kurdistan.
(Reporting By Muriel Boselli and Isabel Coles; Editing by Sybille de La Hamaide)
((muriel.boselli@reuters.com; +33149495270;))
Keywords: TOTAL IRAQ/
