Historic Oil Export Agreement Reached Between Iraq and Kurdish Region

Iraq is poised to restart oil exports from its Kurdish region to Turkey, following a landmark agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government. This marks the end of a two-year halt in exports due to legal disputes over unauthorized sales.

The deal stipulates that Iraq's state oil marketer, SOMO, will handle crude exports from Kurdish oil fields via a pipeline to Turkey. The Kurdistan Regional Government announced that oil exports would resume within 48 hours of the agreement, involving Iraq's oil ministry, the KRG ministry of natural resources, and producing companies.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline had been shut since March 2023, following an International Chamber of Commerce ruling requiring Turkey to pay $1.5 billion in damages to Iraq. Eight oil companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, which account for over 90% of production, have agreed in principle with Iraq's governments to restart exports. Prior to the suspension, Iraq was exporting about 230,000 barrels per day through this pipeline.