Iraq, Iran agree to export up to 60,000 bpd of Kirkuk oil until completion of pipeline

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Oil Ministry on Saturday announced the signing of an agreement with Tehran to export crude oil from Kirkuk fields to Iran, adding the process would begin soon.

“The agreement between Iraq and Iran helps Iraq export oil from Kirkuk fields to Iran at the rate of 30-60 thousand barrels per day through oil tankers until the completion of the oil pipeline [from Kirkuk to Iran],” Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al-Allaibi said in a statement.

“The agreement signed by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) with the Iranian side requires the Iraqi side to transfer the quantities mentioned through trucks to the border point between the two countries near the province of Kermanshah [Kermanshan],” Allaibi added.

The Director General of SOMO, Alaa Yasiri, said the agreement would contribute to the addition of a new export port, the discharge of Kirkuk oil, provide the country with transportation costs to the south for exports, and strengthen economic relations with neighboring countries.

“The export process will begin soon,” he added.

In the past years, Kirkuk oil was transferred through the Kurdistan Region’s oil pipeline to the Ceyhan port in Turkey.

Following the Oct. 16 attack and takeover of Kirkuk Province by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias, the oil export to Turkey was halted.

On Nov. 6, 2017, the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced talks with Tehran to export crude oil from Kirkuk to one of its refineries in Kermanshan, noting trucks would be used to begin the process of transporting oil.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany