“We seek written sales and lifting agreements, with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG], that provide payment transparency and surety without political interference,” the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) said in a statement.
The statement came after Iraq’s oil ministry on Saturday announced the “completion of procedures” necessary to resume production and exports, urging Kurdish authorities to begin delivering oil to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) to begin exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
But the KRG quickly responded and stressed that for oil exports to resume, Iraq’s prime minister must approve quantities of oil needed for local consumption and a mechanism for paying oil producers must be established.
The APIKUR statement noted that producers “remain focused on working with all stakeholders to secure a prompt and mutually beneficial resolution” but agreements must be reached “that uphold our member companies existing contractual, commercial, and economic terms.”
Earlier in February, the federal budget law was amended, raising compensation paid to oil producers for production and transportation costs, which was a final sticking point to resuming Kurdish oil exports.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline were suspended in March 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
Before the suspension, Erbil was exporting approximately 400,000 barrels of oil per day via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, in addition to around 75,000 barrels of oil from Kirkuk.
