ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region were briefly halted for a “routine technical” reason, the director general of Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company told Rudaw on Friday, adding that flows quickly resumed.
“The halt of oil exports was a routine and technical procedure and stopped for a few hours because the oil tanks at Ceyhan port were full,” said Amer Khalil.
The temporary stoppage came after Baghdad sold the first shipment of Kurdistan Region crude from Turkey’s Ceyhan port on Thursday. The tanker carried 650,000 barrels and a second shipment is expected within two days, according to Khalil, both bound for European markets.
Kurdistan Region's natural resources ministry also confirmed the temporary halt, adding that it was due to "technical issues" which have not been resolved, and the exports have since resumed.
Kurdish exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline resumed last Saturday more than two years after they were suspended. They were restarted after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the federal government, and international oil companies finally reached a deal.
Under the new terms, the KRG's natural resources ministry has committed to deliver a minimum of 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) for export. An additional 50,000 bpd will be used for domestic consumption in the Kurdistan Region.
The deal also establishes rigorous reporting standards to maintain transparency.
Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said on Wednesday that Iraq aims to increase its daily production from 4.4 million barrels to 5.5 million by the end of this year.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this report.