Politics

Blinken Praises Iraqi Efforts to Reach Accord with Erbil on Oil Exports

Blinken “commended” Sudani’s “on-going efforts to reach an agreement” with the KRG “on the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline and management of oil revenues.”

Laurie Mylroie 2023/04/19 14:34

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani (right) (Photo: Designed by Kurdistan 24)

USA Antony Blinken Krg Oil and Gas Sudani Ceyhan Pipeline

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani.

Spoke with @IraqiGovt Prime Minister @mohamedshia. I welcomed his efforts to reach agreement between his government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resume oil exports.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 18, 2023

Energy production was the most significant issue on their agenda, as Blinken “commended” Sudani’s “on-going efforts to reach an agreement” with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “on the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline and management of oil revenues.”

Blinken also “welcomed” Sudani’s “bold steps toward energy independence, and, by extension, improving services for the Iraqi people.”

That, presumably, is reference to a $27 billion agreement that Baghdad reached earlier this month with the French company, TotalEnergies, to develop Iraq’s energy industry in order to improve the country’s electricity supply.

Overcoming Obstacles to Kurdish Oil Exports

A March 25 decision by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration (ICC-ICA) found that Turkey was in violation of a 1973 agreement with Iraq by its use of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline to export oil from the Kurdistan Region without Baghdad’s explicit permission.

The KRG built its own pipeline, independent of the original Iraqi pipeline. The dispute concerns the pipeline on the Turkish side, and on that point, regarding the loading of Kurdish oil as it is shipped out of Ceyhan, the ICCC-ICA found in favor of Iraq.

Subsequently, it seemed the matter had been quickly resolved, following a visit to Baghdad in early April, by the KRG’s Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani.

But Iraq’s Oil Minister is required to direct Turkey to re-start the export of Kurdish oil, and that move was resisted by pro-Iran hardliners in the Baghdad government.

However, subsequent discussions between Erbil and Baghdad have reportedly made good progress. The Deputy Chairman of the Oil and Gas Committee of Iraq’s National Assembly, Nahro Rawanduzi, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday that Iraq’s Ministry of Oil will officially ask Turkey to resume Kurdish oil exports in the coming days.

The discussion between Blinken and Sudani came on the same day that the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad met with the Iraqi president, Abdul Latif Rashid, and reaffirmed U.S. support for Iraq.

Background to Blinken-Sudani Exchange

Sudani was not a well-known figure internationally, when he became Iraq’s Prime Minister in October 2022, ending a year-long stalemate following the 2021 elections.

The first discussion between the U.S. Secretary of State and Iraq’s new Prime Minister occurred in early November, when Blinken called Sudani to congratulate him, while affirming Washington’s readiness to work with him, including on his “call for reforms and pledge to fight endemic corruption” in Iraq.

Several months later, in mid-February, the two met on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was about to enter its second year, was the main focus.

By then, Iran’s alignment with Russia, as manifested most clearly in its supply of weapons to Moscow, was evident. America and its European partners, may well have been pleasantly surprised by Sudani’s readiness to pursue a position different from Tehran, as Iraq has been supportive of Ukraine.

Just this week, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, paid a two-day visit to Baghdad. It was the first visit in over a decade, and Kuleba met with both Sudani and Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein.

“I commended the Government of Iraq for its solidarity with Ukraine,” Kuleba said in a written statement following his meeting with Sudani. “We focused on the next steps to reinvigorate relations between Ukraine and Iraq.”