ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A top executive from the government entity responsible for commercializing Iraq's oil told Rudaw that “major obstacles” hindering the export of Kurdish oil have been addressed, with only “technical” issues remaining.
Hamdi Singary, deputy director of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), told Rudaw’s Bakhtiyar Qadir on Wednesday that Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani “is serious about addressing” the obstacles delaying the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, asserting, “We are working really hard to resolve this matter.”
Singary additionally noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani “is also working to resolve this issue and resume oil exports."
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad, stating that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to export oil independently.
Senior officials in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq say losses resulting from the halt have surpassed $24 billion.
In February, the Iraqi parliament passed amendments to the federal budget law, authorizing $16 per barrel in production and transportation fees to international oil companies (IOCs) - a key step toward restarting Kurdish oil exports.
The amended budget law also set a 60-day deadline for the Iraqi government and the KRG to establish an international consultancy body to assess those costs.
Farhad Alaaldin, an advisor to Iraqi PM Sudani, confirmed to Rudaw last week that the export suspension remains unresolved due to “technical” issues, elaborating that the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq have differing perspectives on the “scope of work” of the international consultancy body and “what their duties and tasks would be.”
For his part, Deputy Director of SOMO, Singary, reiterated Alaaldin’s remarks, noting that the delay in exports mainly stems from “a technical issue that requires agreement,” adding that "what remains is reaching an understanding on the issue," which relates to the third party and the nature of its duties.
Asked about the timeline for resuming Kurdish oil exports, Singary stated, "We can't say it will happen today or tomorrow, but the meetings [between relevant parties] are ongoing. There’s no major [issue] left that can be considered complex or unsolvable. It is a simple matter."
Another issue contributing to the delay is the IOCs’ demand for payment of their financial dues, which date back to before the suspension of Kurdish oil exports in 2023.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani announced last week that the IOCs requested Baghdad to pay off those debts - something that was not included in the amended budget law. Despite this, Abdul Ghani pointed out that “the doors for negotiations are not closed.”
