Baghdad, Iraq–Iraqi oil ministry has affirmed the federal government’s keenness on speeding up the resumption of the Kurdistan region of Iraq’s oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan as well as work to bring views closer to serve the public interest.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry noted the flexibility required to move forward towards achieving the goal of resuming export first according to the new data after the decision of the international court, and then discuss other outstanding technical issues between the center and the region.
The ministry stressed the importance of revenues from resuming the region’s oil exports in supplying the federal budget according to the agreed quantities, noting that it expressed all of this in bilateral meetings with the region’s delegation.
In light of the positive atmosphere and bilateral understandings, the ministry expressed its hope to reach an agreement to resume oil exports soon, adding that “in the event that a final agreement is reached in accordance with the new understandings for oil export, this will be announced in due course.”
The halt to exports through a pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan had left foreign oil firms with nowhere to pump Kurdish oil.
Norway’s DNO, one of the main firms operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, announced it was halting production at its wells.
Prior to Ankara’s action on March 25, the autonomous region was exporting roughly 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.
Oil exports are the key revenue source for both the federal and regional governments and their management has long been a sensitive topic in relations.
The Kurdistan government sees Baghdad as trying to profit from the region’s resources, while the Iraqi government argues it should enjoy sovereign control over all of the country’s oil production.
Iraq, the second largest producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), exports an average of 3.3 million bpd.