Tory MP Zahawi In Talks Over Kurdish Oil Role

A Conservative MP who sat on an influential House of Commons Select Committee during the last parliament is in talks about a senior role with the London-listed oil company Gulf Keystone Petroleum.

Sky News has learnt that Nadhim Zahawi, the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, has been approached about a leading strategy role with Gulf Keystone, which has been beset by a string of public shareholder rows in recent years.

People close to the company said Mr Zahawi, who last month narrowly lost out in a bid to chair the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was in "serious talks" about the part-time post as it moves towards the receipt of regular payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

A former adviser to Talisman, another sizeable oil group, Mr Zahawi was a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills committee and chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan during the last parliament.

Born in Baghdad to Kurdish parents, the MP's family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1970s, and he continues to have significant interest in the region.

Before being elected in 2010, Mr Zahawi ran YouGov (LSE: YOU.L - news) , the pollster.

He is understood to have been approached by Gulf Keystone because of his knowledge of Kurdistan and the KRG at a time when international oil companies are struggling to receive regular export payments.

Parliamentary rules on MPs' outside interests allow them to hold external roles, although they are obliged to "base their conduct on a consideration of the public interest, avoid conflict between personal interest and the public interest and resolve any conflict between the two, at once, and in favour of the public interest".

The latest Register of Members' Interests states that Mr Zahawi received £6127.78 from the KRG to cover the cost of a return flight to Kurdistan in January as part of a trade mission led by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

Mr Zahawi also owns shares in Genel Energy (Other OTC: GEGYF - news) , another Kurdish oil explorer, according to the register.

On Monday, Genel announced that Tony Hayward, the former BP boss, was moving from the role of Genel's chief executive to become chairman.

News of Mr Zahawi's talks with Gulf Keystone comes just three days after the oil company averted a shareholder row at its annual meeting in Paris, disclosing that it had received another multimillion dollar payment from the KRG.

As Sky News revealed this month , a trio of directors stepped down from its board ahead of the AGM despite the fact that they were not implicated in recent governance conflicts.

Gulf Keystone has tried to draw a line under persistent leadership rows by installing Jon Ferrier, a former Maersk Oil executive, as its new boss.

The company, which moved from London's junior AIM market to the main list last year, has been holding talks with parties interested in acquiring assets or the entire company for several months.

While it has met a target of producing 40,000 barrels of oil per day, it has been hurt - like rivals such as Genel - by delays to export payments from the KRG as it fights back against Islamic State insurgents.

Todd Kozel, its former boss, stepped down from the role last year following hints of a further shareholder revolt, although his exit has been accompanied by those of a number of independent board members elected as part of the 2013 peace deal.

Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) in Gulf Keystone have slumped by more than 60% during the last 12 months, valuing it at just £351m, while it continues to carry debts of nearly £400m.

Gulf Keystone declined to comment on Monday.