ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two separate delegations from Baghdad are set to arrive in Erbil soon to discuss financial disputes with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a well-placed source told Rudaw on Thursday.
A technical delegation was en route to Erbil at the time of writing while a high-profile and decision-making delegation is set to arrive in the Kurdish capital on Monday, the source said on the condition of anonymity.
Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami informed the KRG late May that it could no longer pay the regional government’s share from the federal budget, claiming that the funds allocated to the KRG had been exhausted.
Erbil has denied the claim, accusing Baghdad of failing to adhere to a February ruling by the federal supreme court which stipulates that the KRG’s share should not be impacted by political disputes.
The technical delegation will discuss the method of calculating the federal government's share of non-oil revenues that the Kurdistan Region delivers monthly to Baghdad. Federal oil ministry representatives will also discuss with the Kurdish oil officials the obstacles to Kurdistan Region oil exports and company conditions for those exports.
Exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court that found Turkey had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing independent exports from Erbil.
The other delegation is scheduled to visit the Kurdistan Region on Monday. This is a high-level delegation including representatives from the Iraqi oil and finance ministries and other senior officials to discuss the issues and how to resolve them based on the technical committee's report.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani hoped on Wednesday that the high-level delegation’s visit would resolve the disputes.
In February, the Iraqi parliament approved amendments to the federal budget law, including a $16-per-barrel fee for production and transport costs for international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Kurdistan Region.
The amendments also require both sides to establish an international technical consultancy within 60 days to assess oil production and transportation costs. If no agreement is reached, the federal council of ministers should appoint the consultancy.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this article.
