Halted Kurdish oil export results in $5bn loss, says KRG minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq and Kurdistan Region have lost a combined $5 billion in revenues as a result of ongoing halt of the Kurdish oil export through Turkish Ceyhan port since late March, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) minister told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

The export has been halted at the request of Baghdad after Iraq claimed victory in an international arbitration court for allowing the Kurdistan Region to independently sell its oil. The court rewarded Baghdad with $1.5 billion.

“Mathematically speaking, it is illogical to lose $5 billion in order to take back $1.5 billion,” the head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations Safeen Dizayee told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

Erbil, Baghdad and Ankara have been in negotiations to resume the export since March. The KRG and Iraqi federal government in April signed a memorandum of understanding to manage the oil dossier with Baghdad.

Turkey and Iraq have recently agreed to resume the export after the completion of maintenance at the pipeline which is believed to have been damaged by the February earthquake.

Turkish minister of foreign affairs and energy last week visited Iraq and Kurdistan Region, where they discussed a number of topics, mainly the resumption of oil export.

Prior to the stoppage, the Kurdistan Region was exporting over 400,000 barrels of oil per day through a pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.