SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Turkey has informed Iraq that the Ceyhan port is ready to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region and is awaiting approval from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced.
Bassim Mohammed, Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil, told the semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper that all necessary preparations have been made to restart exports through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP). He stated that the ministry is waiting for the KRG to authorize the resumption of 185,000 barrels per day.
Mohammed also noted that the recent amendment to Iraq’s Budget Law, passed last month by the Iraqi Parliament, requires the KRG to export its oil via the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) through Turkey.
The development follows a trilateral meeting on Sunday between the Iraqi government, the KRG, and international oil companies represented by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which failed to produce an agreement to restart exports.
Baghdad tripartite talks fail to resume Kurdistan Region oil exports