Iraq’s Kurdish Region Restarts Oil Exports

Oil exports from Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region restarted yesterday at 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in a bid to end a payment dispute with the central government, a senior Kurdistan Regional Government official said.

Exports were halted in April due to a payment dispute between Iraq’s central government and the autonomous northern region.

“As we promised, today we restarted pumping oil at around 100,000 barrels per day as a goodwill gesture towards the central government in Baghdad,” the official said.

“We will keep pumping crude at 100,000 bpd for August, but if Baghdad will not settle payment, the pumping will be halted,” the official said.

Crude produced in Kurdistan is fed into Iraq’s Kirkuk export stream and sold onto world markets via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The Kurdish stoppage had cut Kirkuk shipments by a quarter to below 300,000 bpd.

Reuters