Leaders of the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional authorities have been handed copies of the UN's long-awaited report into the territorial disputes over the country's oil rich northern territories.

Although the study avoids prescriptive judgments, it does aver that Kirkuk, one of the most territorially contested regions in the country and an oil-rich province, must remain unified and under control of Iraqi authorities.

A briefing on the report announced that all four options for the region's future "use the constitution of Iraq as the starting point for handling Kirkuk, require a political agreement among the parties and then some form of a confirmatory referendum".

The residents of Kirkuk will now be called upon to vote on their preferred option in an upcoming referendum.

Earlier this month, PUK Media reported that the Kirkuk Oil Training Institute was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by the province's governor Abdul Rahman Mustafa.

It is hoped that the oil training facilities will provide extensive opportunities for local citizens looking to enter the oil and gas industry.

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