Despite opposition from the national government in Baghdad and its neighbors, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has refused to be held back by the indecision and infighting that characterizes the central government. They have charged ahead, passing their own Oil and Gas Law and forming four regional oil-related companies - the Kurdistan Exploration and Production Company, Kurdistan National Oil Company, Kurdistan Oil Marketing Organization and Kurdistan Organization for Downstream Operations - and signed seven new exploration deals with both Kurdish and international petroleum firms. Kurdish officials claim they are well within their legal right to go forward with the exploration deals and that fears of the KRG monopolizing subsequent oil revenues are unfounded.