“We are committed to receiving crude oil at a rate of no less than 230,000 barrels per day as an initial phase,” Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told reporters during a press conference in Kirkuk.
Under a recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has committed to exporting all of its oil - estimated at 230,000 barrels per day - through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). In return, Baghdad pledged to release long-delayed public sector salaries in the Region.
But repeated drone strikes - around 20 in July alone - have severely damaged oil production in the Region, with some fields forced to halt operations. A report by Iraq’s oil ministry on Tuesday said Kurdish oil production had dropped by 100,000 barrels per day.
“This volume may be increased to align with the amount stipulated in the federal budget law, which requires Baghdad to receive no less than 400,000 barrels per day,” Abdul Ghani said, adding that “we will start with this amount [230,000 bpd] and will gradually increase to reach the 400,000 bpd target.”
The drop has also delayed oil transfers to Baghdad, which in turn has stalled salary payments, citing insufficient deliveries.
Regarding Turkey seeking to renew its oil export agreement with Baghdad, Abdul Ghani told Rudaw that “the agreement will remain in effect until July 2026. During this period, another agreement will be reached in order to ensure the continuation of operations.”
Last week, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey has notified Iraq it is willing to extend the decades-long oil agreement with Baghdad, but with modifications to ensure full use of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
At the time, the Iraqi oil ministry said Ankara had officially expressed its willingness to renew and expand the 1973 oil export agreement with Baghdad. Turkey confirmed sending a letter to Baghdad that included a draft of a broader energy cooperation deal covering oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricity.
It came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in mid-July announced that Turkey will not renew the 1973 Iraq-Turkey oil export agreement, which is set to be terminated in 2026.
Oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court that found Turkey in violation of the 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to independently export oil since 2014.
The KRG, federal Iraqi authorities, and international oil companies continue to negotiate a long-term framework to restore full export capacity from the Kurdistan Region.
