Top Iraqi oil delegation in Kurdistan Region to discuss halted oil export

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi oil minister and other senior officials arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil on Sunday to discuss the resumption of the halted Kurdish oil export through Turkey.

Acting Minister of Natural Resources of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Dr Kamal Mohammad received Minister of Oil Hayyan Abdul Ghani and his accompanying delegation at Erbil International Airport.

The delegation is expected to meet with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani prior to a technical meeting with the Kurdish oil authorities in Erbil later on Sunday. 

Speaking to reporters at the airport, Minister Abdul Ghani expressed optimism about reaching an agreement on the impeding issues that had prevented the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil export through Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

“The aim of the meeting with our brothers at [KRG Ministry of Natural Resources] is to find a solution for all the issues that will facilitate the production and export of oil,” the Iraqi minister said, adding oil production is vital to the country’s economy as it is heavily oil-based.

The Iraqi official said he had hoped the teams to reach a solution by Monday.

Iraq and Turkey have an “understanding” currently to resume the Kurdish export that had been halted since March 25 at the request of Baghdad after the country claimed victory against Turkey at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris.

One of the impeding issues between Erbil and Baghdad with regard to oil production is the operation cost of the international oil companies working in the Region.

Per the Iraqi budget law for 2023, the cost of extracting a barrel of oil has been set at $6 while the Kurdistan Region’s extraction cost is much higher than the set price due to the Region’s topography and contracts it had previously signed with international oil companies, says KRG officials. 

“The price set in the budget does not fit with the nature of our contracts,” Minister Kamal Mohammed told reporters, hoping the delegation to reach an agreement in the coming days.

The delegation will be in the Kurdistan Region for two days.

Per a deal signed in April between Erbil and Baghdad, the two governments would jointly manage the energy dossier, which has been a source of tension for over a decade.

Following the halt of its export via the Turkish Ceyhan port, Erbil has been transferring more than 90,000 barrels of oil to the Iraqi government which uses the crude to meet domestic needs.

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.

Turkish and Iraqi officials have been in discussion regarding the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil export, whose halt had resulted in more than $6 billion loss, according to Kurdish officials.