Turkey ready to resume halted Kurdistan Region oil export, envoy tells PM Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish ambassador in Iraq on Monday told the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani that his country is ready to resume the halted oil export from Iraq’s Kurdish region following months of stoppage.

Barzani on Monday received Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Ali Reza Guney in Erbil, where they discussed the bilateral ties as well as trade, according to a statement from the premier’s office.

The officials agreed on the importance of resuming the Kurdistan Region’s oil export, which has been halted since March 25 this year after Baghdad had claimed victory against Ankara at the International Court of Arbitration.

Turkey is ready to resume the export through its Ceyhan port, the envoy told Barzani, according to the statement.

A senior Iraqi oil ministry has recently visited Erbil and discussed the outstanding issues that had hindered the resumption of oil, including the oil extraction fees that had been priced differently for the oil companies working in the region.

As a result of the months-long halt, Iraq has lost more than seven billion dollars, according to the Kurdistan Region officials.

Prime Minister Barzani has expressed the cabinet’s willingness to resolve the outstanding issues with Baghdad on several occasions, informed officials have briefed the media.

However, the Turkish energy minister announced that the pipeline is ready for export, but the crude flow has yet to restart. 

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.