Baghdad, KRG agree to resume oil exports via Turkey's Ceyhan
The deal reached after more than three weeks of discussions brings an end to a division that has blocked oil flow through the 970-kilometer Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline for over two years.
According to a statement from the KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources, the new agreement establishes a framework for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The deal was reached after a series of discussions that began on July 17 and included site inspections of all oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Delegations from both sides, consisting of 23 individuals, including 17 representatives from the Iraqi Oil Ministry, signed the agreement on Monday.
Iraqi Kurdistan is currently producing 280,000 barrels of oil per day. 50,000 barrels per day are set aside for domestic consumption in northern Iraq, with the remaining 230,000 barrels per day handed over to SOMO.
Crude oil shipments through the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline have been suspended since March 2023. This pipeline previously accounted for approximately 0.5 percent of the world's oil supply.
After the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris ruled that Ankara had violated a 1973 treaty by permitting oil exports without the approval of the federal government in Baghdad, oil flows via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline were stopped.
Additionally, the ruling obligated Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in compensation for losses caused by the KRG's illegal oil exports between 2014 and 2018.
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