Iraq sells first shipment of Kurdish oil after exports restart
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Thursday sold the first shipment of oil from the Kurdistan Region in Turkey, just days after exports resumed following a suspension of more than two years, Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told Rudaw.
“Today at 12 pm, the first oil ship carrying Kurdistan Region oil was sold and left Ceyhan port,” said the minister,” adding that the ship was carrying 650,000 barrels of oil.
Kurdistan Region’s oil exports resumed on Saturday following a three-month tripartite agreement between Baghdad, Erbil and the international oil companies. Exports were halted in March 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to independently export oil beginning in 2014.
“The oil that is exported through the [Turkey-Iraq] Pipeline is collected daily in the storage facilities at Ceyhan port and exported in stages,” Abdul Ghani noted.
Abdul Ghani on Saturday stressed that the resumption of Kurdistan Region’s oil exports will not affect Iraq’s compliance with its latest OPEC commitments, saying “they have already been counted as part of OPEC's quota.”
On Wednesday, the minister told Rudaw that Iraq aims to increase daily oil output from 4.4 million bpd to 5.5 million bpd by the end of the year.
“Today at 12 pm, the first oil ship carrying Kurdistan Region oil was sold and left Ceyhan port,” said the minister,” adding that the ship was carrying 650,000 barrels of oil.
Kurdistan Region’s oil exports resumed on Saturday following a three-month tripartite agreement between Baghdad, Erbil and the international oil companies. Exports were halted in March 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to independently export oil beginning in 2014.
“The oil that is exported through the [Turkey-Iraq] Pipeline is collected daily in the storage facilities at Ceyhan port and exported in stages,” Abdul Ghani noted.
Abdul Ghani on Saturday stressed that the resumption of Kurdistan Region’s oil exports will not affect Iraq’s compliance with its latest OPEC commitments, saying “they have already been counted as part of OPEC's quota.”
On Wednesday, the minister told Rudaw that Iraq aims to increase daily oil output from 4.4 million bpd to 5.5 million bpd by the end of the year.
Malih Mohammed contributed to this article.