Iraq's oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi has said Exxon Mobil had frozen its deal with the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Reuters has reported. The US company had angered Baghdad by signing an exploration deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which the central government considers illegal. "We received a letter from Exxon on March 5 saying they are freezing the contract with the Kurds," Luaibi told the news service on the sidelines of a news conference. However, the Iraqi government has not yet reversed its intention to exclude Exxon Mobil from its next oil bidding round, he said. "But maybe in a few days" Baghdad could change its position, if Exxon gave more clarification of its decision, he added.