SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — A tripartite meeting held in Baghdad late Sunday between Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources, and representatives from international oil companies did not result in a positive resolution regarding the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region. A source from the meeting informed Zoom News that the discussions were unproductive.
The meeting saw the participation of Iraq’s Minister of Oil, Hayyan Abdul Ghani, Kurdistan Region’s Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Mohammed, along with representatives from the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) and foreign oil companies.
According to the source, the talks were marked by tension, with no progress made toward an agreement. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil pressed for the resumption of exports, while oil companies reported losses nearing a billion dollars due to the suspension of exports. They demanded assurances from both the Ministry of Oil and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources before agreeing to restart the exports.
At one point during the meeting, Minister Abdul Ghani accused APIKUR of obstructing the process, while APIKUR representatives reiterated their stance that they would not resume exports without clear guarantees.
Despite earlier statements from Abdul Ghani suggesting that exports would resume on Friday, no action was taken. The issue of buyers was also raised, with oil companies stating that their buyers were ready to resume transactions.
The source added that the Iraqi Minister of Oil mentioned that Erbil was hindering oil exports through the companies and warned of potential problems with the disbursement of the Kurdistan Region’s budget share. In response, KRG’s Minister Kamal Mohammed pointed out that the oil companies involved were major players with international ties, including connections to the White House, and questioned why Erbil was being blamed for the delays.
After extensive discussions, the parties failed to reach an agreement and have scheduled another round of talks for next Tuesday.