Shafaq News– Baghdad

Renewing the oil export agreement between Baghdad and Erbil remains possible, given its current performance, while the final decision will rest with the next government, Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

According to SOMO Director Ali Nizar Al-Shatari, the Kurdistan Region currently exports about 200,000 barrels per day, with oil production and shipments continuing without disruption. He added that authorities aim to increase output to strengthen state revenues and direct additional funds to the federal treasury.

In November, the Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani described the agreement to resume Kurdistan oil exports via Turkiye’s Ceyhan port as only a temporary fix, pointing to the need to pass an Oil and Gas Law to regulate the management of Iraq’s natural resources.

Exports through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline stopped in March 2023 after an arbitration panel at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris ordered Turkiye to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in damages for allowing oil shipments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) without Baghdad’s consent. Flows resumed on September 27, 2025, after talks between Iraq’s Ministry of Oil and the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources produced a framework placing the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) in charge of managing and marketing Kurdish crude exports.

Read more: Resumption of oil exports from Kurdistan: Fragile stability with strategic implications