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Drone attacks cut Kurdistan oil output by 100,000 barrels per day
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Drone attacks cut Kurdistan oil output by 100,000 barrels per day
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Oil production in the Kurdistan Region has dropped by 100,000 barrels per day from the previously agreed 230,000 barrels, according to a report by Iraq's oil ministry seen by Rudaw on Tuesday, with the decline attributed to recent drone attacks that targeted the Region's energy infrastructure.
Rudaw's Baghdad correspondent, Halkawt Aziz, reported that the findings were presented during an Iraqi cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The report states that 'the Kurdistan Region is currently producing 130,000 barrels of oil [per day]. Of this, 50,000 barrels are allocated for domestic consumption, while the federal government receives the remaining 80,000 barrels.'
Under a recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) committed to exporting all of its oil - estimated at 230,000 barrels per day - through the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), Iraq's national oil company. In return, Baghdad pledged to release salaries for the Region's civil servants that have been delayed for months.
According to Aziz, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told the cabinet that the decline in Kurdish oil output is the result of 'attacks by unmanned drones' that have severely damaged infrastructure, making it unachievable to meet the agreed upon quota.
The Kurdistan Region endured nearly 20 drone attacks in July alone, including on energy infrastructure, forcing some oil fields to completely halt operations. Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said in mid-July that the attacks have inflicted 200,000 barrels of oil production per day in losses.
Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed revealed on Sunday that both Erbil and Baghdad know who is behind the recent drone attacks targeting the Region's oil infrastructure.
'We even know where the drones were manufactured, how they were directed, and what their targets were,' Ahmed said, adding that a joint investigative team has been formed between Erbil and Baghdad to probe the incidents.
Of note, the KRG has previously accused Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of involvement, though Baghdad has denied the allegations.
The stalled production and transfer of Kurdish oil has in turn contributed to delaying salary payments to civil servants in the Kurdistan Region, with Baghdad citing insufficient oil deliveries as the reason for withholding funds.
Despite the setbacks, there are signs of progress.
On Monday, the head of SOMO said the company is ready to receive any volume of oil from the Kurdistan Region, confirming the completion of 'all contractual procedures for exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.'
This statement followed a KRG announcement last week affirming its readiness to export all oil through SOMO, emphasizing its commitment to the 'mutual understanding between both sides.'
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad. The court found that Turkey had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to independently export oil since 2014.
The KRG, the federal government, and international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region have been in ongoing negotiations to establish a formula to resume Kurdish oil exports.
