Politics

KRG loss from blast pipeline by PKK is $100 million: MPs

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) estimated loss from its blasted oil pipeline is about $100 million, two Kurdish lawmakers claimed, as the pipeline was blown up by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in late October.

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/11/09 12:13

kurdistan Kurdistan KRG Kurdistan Region PKK Oil Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) estimated loss from its blasted oil pipeline is about $100 million, two Kurdish lawmakers claimed, as the pipeline was blown up by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in late October.

“Our estimation is that the KRG has lost $100 million except the cost of repairing it,” Mohammad Sa’d al-din, the Kurdistan Parliament’s Finance Committee decision-maker, told Kurdistan 24.

Following a 10-days-long disruption of oil export, the KRG announced the resumption of crude exportation on Saturday. The regional government described the act as a “terrorist” and strongly condemned it.

The organization claimed in a statement that its fighters blew up an oil pipeline for the Turkish company “Butash” in the Pagok region of the city of Merdin in northeastern Turkey.

“On a daily basis, the Kurdistan Region was losing $10 million as a result of the explosion,” Lanja Dizayee, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Martyrs and Anfal Committee, told Kurdistan 24, as she criticized the PKK for damaging the Kurdistan Region’s source of income, including the salary of martyrs’ families.

“The loss of four days [production] is equal to the salary of martyrs,” Dizayee explained.

The Kurdistan Region is suffering from economic distress, faced by low crude prices in the global market and disagreement with the federal government over the region’s share of the national budget, affecting the government’s ability to pay its employees’ salaries on time.

“The increase and decrease in oil production would have a direct effect on the employees’ salaries,” Sa’d al-din added.

The PKK is an armed group that has led a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish rights. It is now headquartered in the Kurdistan Region but has long been locked in tensions with the KRG over its alleged usage of Kurdish territory to launch attacks on Turkey.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany