Sema
Iraq’s oil ministry on Tuesday warned that any move to block exports via the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline would pose a serious threat to the country’s interests, criticizing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for issuing what it described as a politically motivated statement.
In a statement released early الثلاثاء, the federal ministry said the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources had made comments that “lack a professional and legal basis” regarding oil sector operations, emphasizing that Baghdad is working to restart the pipeline within days.
Earlier, Baghdad accused Erbil of rejecting a proposal to export up to 300,000 barrels per day through the pipeline, in addition to around 200,000 barrels produced in the Kurdistan Region. However, the KRG denied these claims on Sunday, accusing the federal oil ministry of misrepresenting facts about oil exports to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.
The federal ministry added that resuming exports could help ease the crisis caused by the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, amid rising regional tensions following military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran.
With most of Iraq’s oil exports disrupted due to Iran’s effective closure of the strategic waterway, Baghdad is urgently seeking alternative export routes, especially since oil revenues make up about 90% of the country’s income.
As a temporary measure, the ministry proposed using the pipeline from the Sarlo station in Kirkuk to Fishkhabur, leading to Ceyhan, to export around 250,000 barrels per day—potentially increasing to 450,000 barrels per day when including Kurdistan Region fields.
Meanwhile, the KRG insists that Baghdad is imposing a “crippling blockade” by limiting access to official US dollar exchange rates for traders, and failing to stop attacks by Iran-backed armed groups targeting the Region’s energy infrastructure.
Baghdad called on the KRG to reverse its stance on blocking exports, warning that it would pursue legal action if the refusal continues.
The dispute comes as Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani announced plans to resume direct oil exports from Kirkuk to Turkey within a week through the Baiji–Fishkhabur pipeline, which has a capacity of up to one million barrels per day but has remained largely inactive since being damaged during ISIS’s 2014 offensive.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have largely stopped due to repeated drone and missile attacks on energy facilities, widely attributed to pro-Iran armed groups linking the strikes to Tehran’s tensions with Washington and Tel Aviv.