WASHINGTON DC - The White House has issued an invitation to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, and an association of oil producers working in the Kurdistan Region is hoping Americans can use that visit to pressure Baghdad into resuming oil exports.
"We know that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has been invited to visit the White House and we think that visit will happen after Ramadan, sometime in late April. And before he comes to Washington DC, the prime minister must put in place a budget for the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] and create the policy to restore full oil production and exports. This is our belief. And this is also a belief that has been echoed and is supported by many members of the United States Congress," Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), told Rudaw in an interview on Thursday.
Kurdistan Region's oil exports were halted on March 25 last year after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Iraq in a longstanding arbitration case against Turkey. Baghdad and Erbil reached an initial agreement on resuming the exports, but the flow of oil is still halted as there remain disagreements between the oil companies and Baghdad over production costs. The KRG has lost billions of dollars in revenue because of the stoppage.
The international oil producers, including American companies, operating in the Kurdistan Region have requested members of the United States Congress to urge the administration of President Joe Biden to put more pressure on Baghdad to resume oil exports. Last week, once again, Caggins met with members of Congress to discuss the matter.
"We have had a good reaction and well-received from both sides of Congress, Democrats and Republicans. This week I've met with nine different offices. And all of these offices say that they are supportive" of resuming oil exports, said Caggins.
The US State Department has also urged Baghdad and Ankara to resume the exports as oil revenue is critical for the KRG.
"This is an important issue. And we know that the ITP [Iraq-Turkey pipeline] pipeline is really a critical source of revenue for the Kurdistan Regional Government. And it's also important for a number of international oil companies, which does include American companies as well. And so, the United States continues to engage in Baghdad and Erbil and Ankara... to urge all parties to engage in discussions that would allow the pipeline to resume production," US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Victoria Taylor told Rudaw in an interview on Wednesday.
If Sudani visits Washington soon, the oil producers are hopeful the White House can exert pressure on him to finally resume exports.
"We're fighting every day to get the oil into the pipeline as soon as possible. And most importantly, we think this is an issue of rights and respect for the constitution. The constitution of Iraq says that the Kurdistan Region can have an economy that is strong and contributing to all of the people in Iraq," said Caggins.
Rudaw: You met different people at Capitol Hill, from both political parties, and you're talking about the Kurdistan oil export stoppage issue. So, what have they told you about that?
Myles Caggins: I've been in Washington DC this week fighting on behalf of the people of Kurdistan. We are taking the message to members of the United States Congress, including the Senate and the House of Representatives, to let them know about these important issues affecting people in the Kurdistan Region. There are two big issues. One of them is the budget. We know Baghdad has not enacted, it has not had a budget for people in the Kurdistan Region. The second issue is oil. We want the US Congress to put pressure on Baghdad and also to inform the White House that Baghdad must restore full production and exports of oil.
I want to know about the effectiveness of the US Congress on this issue. We witnessed that last year, and in the past months, they have sent correspondence to the State Department, to the White House, but still the KRG oil exports have not resumed. So how could the Congress help with that issue?
The United States Congress is responsible for creating the budget. We call this appropriations. And in the budget every year there is money designated for Iraq. Right now, in 2024, Iraq will receive more than a billion dollars for military and security assistance, and also around $400 million for humanitarian and stabilization and development assistance. APIKUR has been informing Congress that it is not acceptable for Baghdad to take American tax dollars when Baghdad is refusing to generate its own money from the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region.
And what's their reaction to that?
We have had a good reaction and well received from both sides of Congress, Democrats and Republicans. This week I've met with nine different offices. And all of these offices say that they are supportive of Kurdish issues.
If we talk about this oil issue, are you going to meet the Iraqi oil ministry in the near future to discuss that issue with them?
The international oil companies and APIKUR members are always ready and willing to meet with the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad as well as the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources.
Have any meetings been scheduled with the Iraqi oil ministry?
Currently there are no meetings scheduled but we've seen more statements from the Iraqi oil ministry saying that there are proposals on the table. One time we saw the oil minister say that in three days oil would resume. Here's our view at APIKUR. We know that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has been invited to visit the White House and we think that visit will happen after Ramadan, sometime in late April. And before he comes to Washington DC, the prime minister must put in place a budget for the KRG and create the policy to restore full oil production and exports. This is our belief. And this is also a belief that has been echoed and is supported by many members of the United States Congress.
So, what's your core issue with the Iraqi government? Why are they saying that the oil exports will resume in three days, but after three days, it's not happening? What's the core issue? Why can't you resolve it with them?
Well, the central government in Iraq has demonstrated that it is wanting to suppress and repress the Kurdistan Region. We see this in different ways. We see this by them not having a budget, so civil servants are not getting paid. That hurts the economy. Their inability to come up with a resolution for oil to go through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline also hurts the economy of all of Iraq and the KRG. And finally, we have seen the Iranian-aligned terrorist militia groups doing attacks into the Kurdistan Region with drones. And of course, the tragic killing of Peshwa Dizayee and a young baby.
Are you telling me that the Iraqi government is trying to make justifications and use every tool to not let the Kurdistan Region oil exports again because they want to put pressure on the Kurdistan Region? Or are they willing to solve this issue?
We have seen a lot of talk come out of Baghdad and we're ready for those talks to turn into action, because the answer should be simple. One year ago, when the oil was flowing through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, everything was going fine. There was a billion dollars a month coming into Iraq, and there was money that was available for a budget. And now one year later, the losses have stepped up, there has been more than $10 billion lost. We have seen thousands of jobs in the Kurdistan Region lost from people who are working in the oil industry. And any of the budget issues that Iraq has can be resolved by the sale of oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Let's come back to Washington. Do you expect any letters or correspondence from the Congress to the White House and also to the State Department on that issue in the coming days?
The writing of letters will be up to the members of Congress. But I know from some of the meetings I've had that some members of Congress are already talking about preparing correspondence to the White House. And this is a bipartisan issue. Republicans and Democrats are interested. Your viewers, the people who are watching Rudaw TV in Sulaimani, and Erbil, and Choman, and Amedi, they should also know this. In the American Congress. We have more than 40 members of what is called the Kurdish caucus. These are members of the American Congress who are interested in Kurdish people, in Kurdish affairs, and they are supportive of funding for the Peshmerga, they are supportive of investments, economic investments made by America into the Kurdistan Region. So we are talking to all of them, and encouraging them to draft a letter and make statements and have direct communication with Prime Minister Sudani as well as the White House to support the people of Kurdistan Region.
Do you think that this fight is a lost fight or do you still have hope that the KRG oil exports will resume in the near, medium, or far future?
We're fighting every day to get the oil into the pipeline as soon as possible. And most importantly, we think this is an issue of rights and respect for the constitution. The constitution of Iraq says that the Kurdistan Region can have an economy that is strong and contributing to all of the people in Iraq. There have been more than $10 billion invested by international oil companies. And the older people who are watching your network, they will know that there used to not be any oil economy in the Kurdistan Region. And foreign companies have invested $10 billion. It has helped the Region have prosperity and we want to see the Kurdistan Region continue to grow and be a beacon of light in an area, that's attractive in the Middle East.
I will ask my last question. In the coming days Deputy Assistant Secretary Victoria Taylor is going to visit Iraq. What do you expect from her visit? And what do you want from the State Department to be engaged with both Erbil, Baghdad, and Ankara to bring that issue to a resolution?
Well this week in Washington, [KRG] Prime Minister [Masrour] Barzani has been visiting here and met with the secretary of state. He had meetings on Capitol Hill as well as the White House, and we think the Pentagon too. And we are seeing senior American officials and senators going to Baghdad and Erbil. So there's a lot of talking and we think that the more discussion happens between Washington, Baghdad and Erbil that there will be more solutions. So I think the visit of the deputy assistant secretary of state is another sign that America is committed to a strong relationship between the United States and Iraq, as well as the Kurdistan Region.
