ARBIL, IRAQ, NOV 7 – Authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan autonomous region said yesterday that they hope oil exports can resume as soon as possible after the federal government offered higher cost payments to producers.
Oil exports from the region have been halted since March 2023 when an arbitration tribunal from the International Trade Council in Paris ruled that oil exports by the regional government were illegal.
In its ruling that began with a case filed in 2014, the tribunal ruled that only the federal government had the exclusive right to market all Iraqi oil, thus halting the region’s free exports via pipeline to Turkiye.
The federal and provincial governments have been negotiating since then over production and transportation costs to be paid to the province and its commercial partners. However, in Tuesday’s budget amendment, Baghdad agreed to set up an independent body within two months to determine the payment of those costs and to pay US$16 per barrel in the interim. – AFP
