ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish regional authorities have yet to deliver oil to Baghdad, Iraq’s deputy oil minister said on Thursday as negotiations between the two sides continue.
"The oil has not been handed over yet," Bassim Mohammed Khuzair told Rudaw on Thursday, adding that meetings and discussions regarding the transfer of Kurdistan Region's oil are ongoing.
The federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been locked in a long-running dispute over oil revenues and export rights. They have agreed that the KRG will deliver its oil to Iraq’s state marketing authority, keeping some for domestic production, but have yet to resume exports that have been stalled since 2023.
Khuzair said they are ironing out details with the oil producers.
"The companies have other demands and the regional government conveys these demands to us for discussion," he said, without elaborating on the specific issues.
Iraq is looking at alternative oil export routes, including potentially reviving a dormant pipeline to Syria that has been out of service for over two decades.
Syria pipeline revival
The 800-kilometer pipeline between Kirkuk and Syria's Baniyas port was built in 1952 but operations were suspended in 2003.
"We have agreed with the Syrian government to reactivate it, but due to being suspended for a long time, it is not easy to reactivate it quickly and it may take several years," Khuzair said.
Baniyas is located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
Iraq opened discussions with Damascus about the pipeline in April when an Iraqi delegation visited the Syrian capital.
Khuzair warned that the pipeline may not be viable after years of disuse, potentially requiring extensive new construction. He said Iraq and Syria plan to jointly contract a consulting company to assess the pipeline's condition and address technical challenges, though the firm has not yet been selected.
Export targets
Iraq currently produces approximately 4.2 million barrels per day and exports between 3.35 and 3.4 million barrels daily, according to the deputy minister.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said earlier this month that Iraq's current export levels do not reflect the country's oil reserves, production capacity, population size or revenue needs.
"We hope our friends and brothers will understand Iraq's economic and development needs as necessary and reconsider Iraq's export share quota," Sudani said earlier this week.
Khuzair confirmed that Iraq has initiated discussions with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) about increasing its exports, though no agreement has been reached.
The oil sector remains critical to Iraq's economy, providing the bulk of government revenues.
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