KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region-- The export of crude oil from Kirkuk will rise after a ban was lifted Saturday on several oil fields in the province, increasing the total export of the crude to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) from previous 150,000 bpd.
The decision was made after Iraq's new Oil Minister Jabar Luaibi was appointed last week to lead the ailing oil industry in the country which stands for some 90 percent of Iraq's revenues.
A Kurdish provincial lawmaker welcomed the decision to increase the output and told Rudaw it showed "the good faith of the new minister."
"We welcome the move and regard it as a good step towards better understanding between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad," said lawmaker Fuad Hussein from Kirkuk's oil committee.
Long running disputes over oil revenues between Kurdish and Iraqi governments since later 2010 have almost paralysed relations between Erbil and Baghdad with both sides accusing the other of undermining the constitution and previous agreements.
Iraq has so far failed to produce the much needed gas and carbon law that would effectively regulate the production, export and revenue sharing on both national and regional levels.
The KRG has been cautiously optimistic about the appointment of Lauibi who is considered a technocrat with knowledge about the oil industry.
Iraq's Northern Oil Company (NOC) halted the export from Kirkuk's three oil wells including Baba Gurgur, Khabaza and Jambouri on March 11 with an output of 150,000.
The export from Kirkuk's Bay Hasan and Havana through Kurdistan pipelines were not part of the ban.
Under the terms of 2014 agreement between Erbil and Baghdad, NOC will export parts of its oil through Kurdish pipelines to the Turkish Ceyhan port in return for KRG administrating portions of the oil production in the province.
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