Demonstrators have blocked highways and picketed government buildings in Sulaimaniya and Erbil, demanding a further unwinding of government austerity measures.
The American investment firm Twelve Seas and the UK's Wood Group are proposing to partner with Halliburton to buy Exxon’s interest in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields.
Fears over cyclical violence following an Islamic State attack near the Mansuriya gas field in Diyala province has driven substantial civilian displacement.