Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iraqi Deputy Speaker Shakhawan Abdullah announced that obstacles to oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have been resolved following Parliament’s approval of the federal budget amendment.
He confirmed to Shafaq News that oil exports will resume, with the primary objective of ensuring timely salary payments for public sector employees.
Abdullah thanked all parliamentary blocs that supported the amendment, calling it a “major step toward reintegrating Kurdistan’s oil sector into global markets,” emphasizing that selling oil through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) “eliminates the federal government’s justification for delaying the Region’s budget allocations.”
Despite some disputes during the session, lawmakers agreed to pass the amendment. Abdullah noted that “any modifications would have restarted negotiations, setting progress back to square one, given that the agreement involves the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the federal government, and oil companies.”
The resolution follows a series of meetings between KRG representatives and the Iraqi government, with the most recent taking place on Friday.
Meanwhile, the issue of public sector salaries has been a longstanding source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, particularly after Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled last year that the Iraqi Prime Minister and the KRG Prime Minister must deposit Kurdistan’s public sector salaries directly into federal banks.
While Baghdad has insisted on full employee lists before disbursing funds, the KRG Ministry of Finance has criticized the process as “unclear” and “impractical.”
The Kurdistan Region has faced severe financial strain since losing a key revenue source after Turkiye halted oil exports via the Ceyhan pipeline following an international arbitration ruling that ordered it to compensate Baghdad for losses caused by Kurdistan’s independent oil exports.
On the other hand, the Iraqi federal government is struggling with a budget deficit exceeding 64 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $49 billion), while domestic debt accounts for 14.5% of Iraq’s GDP, according to official data.