On Saturday, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed that the government is eager to resolve outstanding issues and resume oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Asem Jihad, the spokesperson of the Oil Ministry, stated to the INA that the Iraqi government is putting significant efforts towards resolving various legal, technical, and financial issues that have arisen from the contracts signed by the Kurdistan region of Iraq with international companies. These contracts differ from those signed by the federal government or the Ministry of Oil.
Jihad stated that the legal format of these contracts needs to be consistent with those concluded by the Oil Ministry.
The Iraqi official explained that compliance with laws is necessary to expedite oil exports through Ceyhan.
The Turkish Ambassador to Iraq, Ali Reza Gunay, announced last week that his country is ready to resume oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan.
Gunay made the remarks during his meeting with Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), according to a statement released by the KRG.
On November 12, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani announced that an agreement would be reached with the KRG, oil companies, and Ankara to resume oil exports from Iraq to Turkey.
During that time, Abdul-Ghani and his team visited Erbil to meet with the Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan. The meeting was held to address the pressing issue of halted oil exports that had been suspended for several months. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil released a statement regarding the meeting.
On March 25, Turkey halted the transportation of Kurdistan’s oil to the port of Ceyhan. This decision was made after an international arbitration ruling that required Ankara to compensate Baghdad for violating the 1973 pipeline agreement. The violation was due to Ankara allowing the export of the region’s oil without Baghdad’s approval between 2014 and 2018.
