ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad and Erbil have reached an agreement to develop security plans to protect oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region, the military spokesperson for the Iraqi prime minister announced on Sunday.
A high-level Iraqi military and security delegation led by Iraq’s Army Chief of Staff Abdul Amir Yarallah visited Erbil and held meetings with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Sabah al-Numan, military spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, said in a statement on Facebook that "an agreement was reached to develop robust plans to protect oil companies [operating in the Kurdish region] and put an end to attacks targeting them, thereby creating the necessary conditions to resume oil production and exports to revitalize the economy and support reconstruction."
The move is aimed at paving the way for the resumption of oil production and exports at full capacity after months of disruptions and security threats posed by pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups following the US-Iran war that began in late February.
Following the outbreak of the war, the Kurdistan Region came under hundreds of drone and missile attacks by Iran and its allied armed groups in Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in late April that at least 809 drones and missiles targeted the Region between February 28 and April 20.
An informed source told Rudaw that the primary purpose of Yarallah’s visit was "to strengthen military and security relations between Erbil and Baghdad," adding that the army chief had "expressed his readiness for any necessary steps to protect the oil fields of the Kurdistan Region."
The delegation included senior military and security officials.
The talks focused on joint coordination, protection of vital infrastructure, and broader security cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil.
"The meetings featured a mutual reaffirmation of continued joint cooperation between the Army and the Peshmerga to fill security gaps and pursue terrorist elements," Numan said.
He added that both sides emphasized "that resuming exports is a strategic step for the country’s recovery."
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region resumed in September last year after being halted for more than two years, following an agreement between the KRG, the federal government in Baghdad, and international oil companies operating in the Region.
Kurdistan Region exports had been halted since March 2023 after Turkey shut down approximately 450,000 barrels per day of Iraqi oil flowing through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court in a dispute between Baghdad and Ankara.
Updated at 09:13 pm
