Iraq still in talks with KRG, Turkey to export Kirkuk oil to Ceyhan port: Minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Oil Minister, Jabar al-Luaibi, on Monday stated Baghdad is still in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey to resume the export of Kirkuk’s crude oil abroad through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

“The decision to restart exports depends on the results of talks,”Al-Sabah newspaper quoted Luaibi as saying.

The output from Kirkuk’s oilfields is currently at 220,000 barrels per day, which is entirely diverted to local refineries.

Oil exports from Kirkuk transported by pipeline to Turkey were halted after Iraqi forces and Shia militias took over the province late last year, weeks after the controversial referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region included Kirkuk in the vote.

Baghdad planned to export the province’s crude oil to Iran with trucks, but the process has been delayed multiple times due to a number of reasons, including threats by Islamic State (IS) militants along the road to the border.

Senior Kurdish officials previously stated they were in talks with Baghdad regarding the resumption of exports from Kirkuk through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to Turkey, but an official agreement is yet to be signed between the two governments.

Editing by Nadia Riva