Kurdistan
The moment Iraq started exporting oil via Kurdistan-Ceyhan pipeline on March 18, 2026. Photo: KRG Ministry of Natural Resources.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Wednesday resumed exporting its oil through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline with Turkey after a three year halt, a senior Iraqi oil official told Rudaw, in a significant development for the country’s energy sector as Iran war has completely suspended its exports through Strait of Hormuz.
Amer Khalil, director general of Iraq's state-run North Oil Company, said the export process began early in the morning. “Oil exports from the Sarlo station [in Kirkuk] to the port of Ceyhan [in Turkey] began today at 6:30 am,” he stated.
Khalil added that “250,000 barrels will be exported daily,” a substantial volume returning to international markets amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
He also noted that “the export process took place in the presence of a representative” from the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Oil prices fell by at least two dollars after the resumption, reported Reuters.
In a separate statement, the Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed the start of the process, linking it to a decision by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
“As per the decision of Masrour Barzani… and in consideration of the extraordinary circumstances facing the country, this morning, March 18, at 6:30 am, the Ministry of Natural Resources, in coordination with the federal Ministry of Oil, began operating the Sarlo oil station,” the ministry said.
The statement added that the move aims “to transport 250,000 barrels of oil daily to the Fishkhabur station, to then be sent through the Kurdistan Region's pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.”
Iraq’s exports through the Kurdistan Region were suspended in March 2023 when a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court completely suspended Kurdistan Region’s oil exports to Turkey.
Iraq heavily relied on the Strait of Hormuz for its oil exports but the ongoing Iran war has effectively closed the strait.
On Tuesday, Erbil and Baghdad reached a key agreement to export Kirkuk’s oil via the Kurdistan Region's pipeline to Turkey.
The agreement comes shortly after Iraq’s oil ministry warned on Tuesday that blocking oil exports through the key pipeline posed a “major risk” to the country’s interests.
Baghdad last week made an official request to Erbil to export up to 300,000 barrels of oil per day through the pipeline, in addition to around 200,000 barrels produced in the Kurdistan Region.
The ministry said such exports could help “alleviate the severity of the crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz” amid escalating regional tensions following the US and Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the federal government has been scrambling to find alternative routes to export its crude, which accounts for around 90 percent of the country’s revenues.
Last updated at 8:50 am.
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