ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil and Baghdad are close to finalizing a “broader framework” on oil exports, a source from Iraq’s Oil Ministry told Rudaw on Saturday. "An agreement has been reached between Erbil and Baghdad on the handover and resumption of oil exports, but the agreement needs a broader framework and that is expected to be completed in the coming days,” said the source. The two sides have agreed on a mechanism to resume the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports that have been stopped since March 2023, though further talks with Turkey are still needed, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources announced Wednesday. Under that deal, the KRG will keep 50,000 barrels per day for domestic consumption and transfer the rest to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for export through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. The agreement was reached after months of negotiations. Following the announcement, Amer Khalil Ahmed, head of the North Oil Company that operates under the Oil Ministry, told Rudaw that the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources will meet with oil producers on Saturday. Control over oil resources has long been a source of tension between Erbil and Baghdad. Last week, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that it is “committed” to receiving 230,000 barrels per day from the Kurdistan Region under an earlier agreement reached in July. “The Kurdistan Regional Government has not yet delivered oil to the Oil Ministry or SOMO,” the federal ministry source told Rudaw on Saturday. In return for Erbil handing over its oil, Baghdad pledged to release delayed funds to cover the salaries of Kurdistan Region’s public sector employees. The federal government has transferred 975 billion dinars (around $737 million) to cover May wages, but June and July salaries remain unpaid due to technical and financial disputes. Exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Turkey violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to independently export oil since 2014.
