ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s federal oil ministry on Saturday invited foreign oil companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to meet on Tuesday with the goal of resolving disputes and advancing oil field development. The oil companies have said they will not resume exports unless key conditions, including new agreements and payment guarantees, are met in writing.
The oil ministry said the talks are intended to reach an understanding that ensures “the development of oil fields using best global practices in a way that serves national interests.”
It invited oil producers operating under the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Ministry of Natural Resources to the meeting.
APIKUR, which represents eight international oil firms, responded by outlining conditions for resuming exports.
“Before our companies begin exporting oil through the pipeline, we must have new agreements - sales and lifting agreements,” APIKUR spokesperson Myles Caggins told Rudaw’s Bakhtiyar Abdulaziz, adding that they seek clarity on many issues, including production quantity and costs.
He also said that the matter of outstanding payments must be addressed, stating, “Our companies are owed $1 billion,” and that while discussions have been held with both Erbil and Baghdad, “we must have guarantees that the payments will occur.”
The companies also want assurances that payments under Iraq’s budget amendment - requiring Baghdad to pay $16 per barrel to the KRG - will be reliably distributed to the producers.
Caggins highlighted United States interests in a strong Iraqi energy sector, pointing out that three American firms within APIKUR have invested billions in Kurdistan’s oil industry. “America is very serious about wanting Iraq to have a strong economy,” he said, adding that under President Donald Trump, Washington wants to “unleash energy around the world.”
APIKUR member companies currently produce more than 60% of Kurdistan’s oil, which they are currently selling on the local market.
“We want the pipeline to sell in global markets - more revenues for us and Iraq,” Caggins said. However, he noted that restarting oil production at full capacity will take time. “We might not get to 400,000 barrels per day in a few days due to geology. It might take a few weeks or months.”
The companies insist that their contracts with the KRG remain legally valid, having been upheld under international law and tested in Baghdad’s courts. “In federal Iraq, oil companies have the same sales and lifting agreements. We want the same thing here in the Kurdistan Region,” Caggins said. He also noted the economic role of APIKUR firms, noting that “80% of employees at APIKUR companies are Kurdish and Iraqi.”
With more than $24 billion in lost revenues due to the ongoing dispute, APIKUR said it remains committed to investing in Kurdistan’s oil sector, but needs clear contractual guarantees. “We want to continue investing, drill more wells, and maintain production volumes to have the strongest oil and gas sectors in Kurdistan,” Caggins said.
Kurdish oil exports were stopped in March 2023 after the International Court of Arbitration ruled in Iraq’s favor that Turkey had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement when it allowed the Kurdistan Region to independently export oil.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said on February 26 that Baghdad wants to open a “new page” with the international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region after the federal parliament approved an amendment to the budget law, increasing the fee of oil companies operating in the Kurdish region.
