Sema
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee has confirmed that all preparations for resuming oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have been completed, with no remaining obstacles.
Ali Shaddad, the committee’s spokesperson, stated that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has requested an increase in its domestic oil consumption from 45,000 barrels per day to 110,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani announced that the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) will initially export 185,000 barrels per day through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, with plans to gradually increase the volume in line with Iraq’s federal budget allocations.
The issue of Kurdistan’s oil exports was also discussed during a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, where they addressed broader regional concerns, including Syria and armed groups operating in Iraq.
The US State Department has urged the KRG to resume oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and to honor oil contracts with US companies operating in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have been halted since March 2023, following a ruling by an international arbitration court in Paris, which sided with the Iraqi federal government in its dispute with the KRG over oil sales.
The prolonged suspension has resulted in financial losses exceeding $21 billion for the Iraqi government, according to official estimates.