ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Oil producers in the Kurdistan Region on Friday said recent talks between Erbil and Baghdad are a “potentially positive step” towards resuming oil exports that have been suspended for eight months.
The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) said in a statement that discussions earlier this week between an Iraqi delegation headed by Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani and Kurdish officials in Erbil “represent a potentially positive step toward resumption of full production and exports,” but warned that any addendums to their contracts should be agreed on by all parties - the federal government, the regional government, and the association.
Exports of the Kurdistan Region’s oil 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 Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
Abdul-Ghani said on Monday that Erbil and Baghdad were working on bringing the Region’s contracts with the international oil companies in line with the Iraqi constitution and expressed optimism the exports would resume.
“We have a project to adjust those contracts with the laws that are allowed by the Iraqi constitution,” the Iraqi minister told Rudaw.
There have been several meetings between Turkish, Iraqi, and Kurdish officials since March, but exports have yet to resume. Prior to the halt, around 400,000 barrels a day were being exported by Erbil through Ankara, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk’s oil.
APIKUR said it has not been informed about any decisions made in the recent meetings. “Representatives from APIKUR member companies were not invited and have not received any official communications of the meeting’s outcomes,” it noted.
The Iraqi and Kurdish governments have lost $7 billion since the oil exports were halted, according to APIKUR.
The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) said in a statement that discussions earlier this week between an Iraqi delegation headed by Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani and Kurdish officials in Erbil “represent a potentially positive step toward resumption of full production and exports,” but warned that any addendums to their contracts should be agreed on by all parties - the federal government, the regional government, and the association.
Exports of the Kurdistan Region’s oil 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 Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
Abdul-Ghani said on Monday that Erbil and Baghdad were working on bringing the Region’s contracts with the international oil companies in line with the Iraqi constitution and expressed optimism the exports would resume.
“We have a project to adjust those contracts with the laws that are allowed by the Iraqi constitution,” the Iraqi minister told Rudaw.
There have been several meetings between Turkish, Iraqi, and Kurdish officials since March, but exports have yet to resume. Prior to the halt, around 400,000 barrels a day were being exported by Erbil through Ankara, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk’s oil.
APIKUR said it has not been informed about any decisions made in the recent meetings. “Representatives from APIKUR member companies were not invited and have not received any official communications of the meeting’s outcomes,” it noted.
The Iraqi and Kurdish governments have lost $7 billion since the oil exports were halted, according to APIKUR.
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