Iraqi Cabinet Backs Oil Transfer from Kurdistan Region to SOMO
The Iraqi Council of Ministers discussed the agreement between Erbil and Baghdad in detail, and the discussions on this issue were very positive.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan24's reporter in Baghdad, Dilan Barzan, reported on Tuesday: "The meeting of the Iraqi Council of Ministers was very positive. The Iraqi Oil Minister agreed that the oil currently produced in the Kurdistan Region be handed over to the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO)."
He added that the Iraqi Council of Ministers discussed the agreement between Erbil and Baghdad in detail, and the discussions on this issue were very positive.
Barzan also noted that during the meeting, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani stated, "A special committee from the Ministry of Oil has visited the oil fields in the Kurdistan Region. According to the committee's reports, the oil fields have suffered heavy damage due to drone attacks."
"Reports indicate that the Kurdistan Region can produce 130,000 barrels of oil per day, with 50,000 barrels designated for domestic consumption and 80,000 barrels to be handed over to SOMO," Abdul Ghani explained during the meeting.
According to Barzan, the oil minister agreed to deliver 80,000 barrels of oil to the ministry, but on the condition that if there is any threat to the oil fields, the region must increase production and deliver the agreed-upon amount of oil.
Regarding the non-oil revenues of the Kurdistan Region, Barzan revealed that Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami stated, "We have not yet received the final report on non-oil revenues from the committees formed to submit to [Iraqi Prime Minister] al-Sudani."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Iraqi Minister of Justice Khalid Shwani, and Minister of Construction, Housing, and Municipalities Bangin Rekani remarked, "The issue of non-oil revenues requires more time because both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government operate under different systems. Therefore, the two-week timeframe for the committees to prepare the final report is very short, and their working period should be extended."
At the end of the meeting, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani decided to extend the committees' working period by an additional week. By next Tuesday, during the Iraqi Council of Ministers meeting, the committees are expected to submit their final report on oil and non-oil revenues and make a final decision.
