ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - British oil producer Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) announced Monday that it had received $16.5 million in additional payments for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, recovering more than half of the outstanding top-up payments for the final four months of 2025.
The company said the payment came from the first additional oil cargo lifted in October as part of arrangements with the Iraqi government designed to compensate international oil companies for the difference between previous export payments and international oil prices.
"The top-up payment reconciles export sales during September to December 2025 to international prices and recovers more than half of the top-up receivable outstanding for the period of $31.3 million net to GKP," the company said in a statement.
The development comes as part of progress in resolving longstanding payment disputes between Baghdad, Erbil, and international oil producers, which have complicated efforts to restore production to full capacity and attract investment following the prolonged suspension of Kurdistan Region oil exports. Disagreement over payment to international oil companies for years prevented a lasting budget agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.
Gulf Keystone said the remaining additional cargoes allocated for the final quarter of 2025 had also been lifted in October, with payments expected by the end of November. The company expects to recover the remaining $14.8 million owed for that period.
"The Company continues to receive its share of interim cargos and payments for current production," the company said.
Following the payment, Gulf Keystone reported a cash balance of $66 million as of November 6, excluding proceeds from a $175 million bond issuance expected to settle on November 10.
In mid-October, Gulf Keystone and Canadian oil producer ShaMaran Petroleum announced that Baghdad had begun allocating additional oil cargoes to compensate producers for previous payment shortfalls.
The companies subsequently announced plans to merge, creating a larger oil producer with interests in the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq.
Meanwhile, Norwegian oil company DNO reported around the end of October that production in the Kurdistan Region had rebounded significantly, with oil prices reaching their highest levels since local sales began in 2023.
The Kurdistan Region's oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline resumed in September 2025 under a tripartite agreement involving Baghdad, Erbil, and international producers, following a suspension that began in March 2023.
However, outstanding payments remain a major concern. Kurdistan Region Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Ahmed Mufti told Rudaw in October that Baghdad's target of increasing Kurdish oil exports to 400,000 barrels per day would be difficult to achieve without settling companies' entitlements and providing investment guarantees.
