Kurdish referendum

Kirkuk is a disputed area in Iraq. The question is: will Kirkuk be part of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, or will it remain under the control of the central government in Baghdad.
When Iraq drafted its constitution in 2005, there could be no agreement on who would control Kirkuk, an oil rich area. So the Iraqis inserted Article 140, a clause that called for a national census, followed by a referendum on the status of Kirkuk, all to be held by the end of 2007.
But since then a series of delays have prevented the census and the referendum to happen.
The problem is that there can't be a referendum on Kirkuk before there is a census to know who is eligible to vote. And just to carry out a census could bring a civil war in itself as it would obviously shape the outcome of the referendum vote.
Already, the Kurdish regional government has been defying Baghdad and issuing contracts to develop its oil fields, including some in Kirkuk.