Kurdish oil flows to Turkey in deal with Baghdad
Kurdish oil flows to Turkey in deal with Baghdad
Kurdish Iraqi oil is being sent to Turkey via Baghdad-controlled pipelines after deal struck between Iraqi Kurdish region and central government in Iraqi capital.
2 min read
Kurdish forces have been battling IS for control of Iraq's oil fields [AFP]
Oil from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq is flowing to Turkey via Baghdad-controlled pipelines as part of a December agreement between Kurdish and central authorities in Iraq, al-Araby al-Jadeed has learned.
The Kurdistan Regional Government is using the central authority's infrastructure to export up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day, following preparations last year to link pipelines controlled by Kurdish and central authorities.
The trade comes after the signing of the December agreement and a potential end to a stalemate between Erbil and Baghdad, which have clashed on numerous times about the allocation of Iraq’s natural resources and budget.
The KRG began to unilaterally export oil in 2013, and the Iraqi government responded by refusing to send Erbil its cut of the national budget.
Kurdish exports were mainly by truck, meaning authorities could bypass Baghdad-controlled pipelines and keep the revenue.
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The KRG began to unilaterally export oil in 2013, and the Iraqi government responded by refusing to send Erbil its cut of the national budget. |
However, under the deal Baghdad will now receive its share of revenue and in return will give the Kurds 17 percent of the national budget, which in 2014 was about $12bn.
The deal comes as Iraq continues to battle the Islamic State group in the north of the country - a complicating factor that has hit oil export efforts.
The Kurds had also promised to help connect Kirkuk pipelines to the Turkish border after original pipelines were destroyed or taken over controlled by the IS group.
Several documents obtained by al-Araby show preparations to last year to begin the co-operation.
One document appears to a confirm that 100,000 barrels a day of crude oil will be sold in an agreement between the Baghdad-controlled Northern Oil Company and the Kurdish ministry of natural resources.
A second document from May 2014 details a request by the NOC to the ministry of natural resources to connect oil from Erbil with its 'Key One' oil pump station.
The document states that such a connection would allow "transform the current export system and would build dependency on the newly established line, which connects Kirkuk and Erbil".
