ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) on Wednesday said Erbil and Baghdad have lost seven billion dollars since the flow of oil from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region to Turkey was suspended in March.
Oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been halted since March 23 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
“The Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and International Oil Companies have collectively lost $7 billion in revenues [since March 23]. This equates to a loss of $35 million every day,” said the association in a statement.
“In addition, the closure has significantly impacted the livelihoods of the Iraqi people and local communities that have relied on the economic impact of APIKUR member company investments for more than 15 years,” it added.
Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Department of Foreign Relations, told Rudaw late last month that Erbil and Baghdad had lost six billion dollars due to the halt in the flow of oil to Turkey.
Turkey has said the issue is between Erbil and Baghdad. Turkish officials have stated that the pipeline was closed due to much-needed repairs after the devastating February earthquake.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Wednesday said that his government is ready to resume the process. He added that there is a “good understanding” between the government and oil companies in this regard.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on Tuesday that the resumption of the oil export depends on Baghdad not Turkey.
About 400,000 barrels of oil were being exported daily by Erbil through the pipeline which runs to the Turkish port of Ceyhan before the halt, in addition to some 75,000 barrels from Kirkuk oil fields controlled by the Iraqi government.
“These losses are avoidable and impact the global oil market, economic entitlements of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the livelihoods of countless Iraqis and their families,” APIKUR said in its statement.
“As financial losses increase daily, APIKUR member companies encourage a swift solution for our contractual issues and a clear understanding between the Governments of Iraq and Kurdistan Region for our future payments,” Myles Caggins, the association’s spokesperson, was cited in the statement as saying.
