Baghdad-Erbil agree to export 150,000 bpd of Kirkuk oil
BAGHDAD, Iraq – At least 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Kirkuk will be jointly exported to Turkey by Erbil and Baghdad, sources told Rudaw on Tuesday.
The agreement will mean that 75,000 bpd will be exported by the Kurdistan Region and an equal volume by Baghdad to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, the sources said.
The oil will come from Kirkuk’s Baba Gurgur and Khabaza oilfields.
The oil agreement follows a meeting in Baghdad Monday between Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Premier Haider al-Abadi.
Iraqi oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Rudaw that Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali Hussein will visit Erbil soon to follow up on the deal.
The agreement stipulates that Baghdad and Erbil will share the salaries of civil servants in Kirkuk, with each paying half.
Iraq stopped exporting oil from Kirkuk five months ago, over a row with Erbil about Kurdistan exporting its oil independently. That worsened an economic crisis on both sides, whose coffers are being severely strapped by the war with the Islamic State (ISIS).
Since Iraq stopped exporting Kirkuk’s oil, there have been many suggestions of how the cash-strapped province could sell its oil.
According to information that Rudaw obtained from Baghdad, Herro Ibrahim Ahmed, a member of the PUK politburo, had at one point asked the Iraqi prime minister to suspend the export of Kirkuk oil through the KRG’s pipeline through Turkey.
There had been speculation that Kirkuk would seek to sell its oil through Iran. When asked by Rudaw in June if there was such a plan in the works, Governor of Kirkuk, Najmaldin Karim, said, “There is such talk, but I am not aware of its details. Practically it will take two years to build a pipeline.”
According to information obtained by Rudaw, international parties monitoring the political and economic situation in Iraq reportedly opposed selling Kirkuk’s oil through Iran via tanker.
However, because of negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad on Monday, exportation of Kirkuk’s oil through the KRG’s pipeline through Turkey will resume.
Before the talks, Iraqi officials had warned that if the discussions fail Baghdad would consider exporting its oil through Iran.