Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi revealed on Friday seven conditions set by the federal government for releasing the Kurdistan Region’s share of Iraq’s 2027 budget. One of the main conditions requires the region to export at least 400,000 barrels of oil per day through Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
In a post, Al-Marsoumi explained that the first condition involves settling financial dues between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the years 2024 to 2026. The total amount is 12.775 trillion dinars, which will be settled over three years.
The second condition requires the Kurdistan Region to deliver at least 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to SOMO for export through Ceyhan. If exports are stopped or become impossible, the oil must instead be handed over to the Federal Ministry of Oil for local use.
The third condition requires the regional government to transfer all non-oil revenues to the federal treasury. These revenues will be reviewed every month by the financial oversight offices of both the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.
The fourth condition requires the region to hand over any natural gas production that exceeds its local needs to the federal government. If it fails to do so, the value of the undelivered gas will be deducted from its budget share.
Under the fifth condition, based on a Supreme Federal Court ruling dated February 15, 2022, the Kurdistan Regional Government cannot sign oil and gas investment or operating contracts with local or foreign companies without going through the Federal Ministry of Oil.
The sixth condition sets the Kurdistan Region’s budget share at 12.7%, instead of the previously discussed 14.14%.
The seventh condition states that the region’s budget allocation must be based on actual spending rather than planned spending, after sovereign expenses are deducted.
These conditions come as Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani recently visited Baghdad and held meetings with Prime Minister Ali al-Zubaidi and several federal ministers to discuss the region’s share of the 2027 budget.