Media reports from Seoul say a Korea National Oil Corp.-led consortium has signed oil contracts with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government.

The contracts were not verified by the KRG, which typically issues announcements when oil contracts are signed.

It has signed more than 20 production-sharing contracts since 2004, despite criticism from the central government in Baghdad, which claims regional and other local governments have no right to sign deals in the oil and gas sector. SK Energy, South Korea's largest refiner and partner in a 2007 oil exploration and development deal signed between KRG and a KNOC-led consortium, was cut off from oil supplies by Baghdad in retaliation.

The Yonhap News Agency reports KNOC will have direct or buy-in rights to eight oil exploration blocks in the three northern Iraq provinces that constitute the KRG. South Korea will direct $2.1 billion in construction and development projects as part of the deal -- $600 million first and the rest when oil starts flowing from the investments, which is more than three years away.

The contract is the result of a memorandum of understanding reached in June, Yonhap reports, and could be traced to reports in February that the sides had reached an agreement on terms.