Iraq, Kurdistan reach deal to resume oil exports
Shafaq News – Baghdad / Erbil
The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, and international oil companies have reached a tripartite agreement to resume Kurdish crude exports through the Turkish Ceyhan pipeline, sources told Shafaq News on Monday.
A delegation mandated by Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani finalized the technical and administrative details of the deal, which will be presented to the cabinet on Tuesday for approval under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, according to the sources.
Under the agreement, the state-run North Oil Company (NOC) will assume responsibility for exporting crude from Kurdistan via the pipeline, which carries oil from Kirkuk fields across Turkiye to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Exports are expected to restart within days, following an 18-month suspension that cost both Baghdad and Erbil billions of dollars.
Read more: Billions down the drain: The cost of Iraq's Kurdistan oil export ban
Observers say the agreement reflects a broader political understanding between Baghdad and Erbil, aimed at rebuilding trust and addressing wider disputes such as the Kurdistan Region’s budget share and salaries, while also resetting ties between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Kurdish Natural Resources Ministry, long divided over control of fields and contracts.
Read more: Kurdistan’s salaries: A lingering injustice beyond numbers
Energy expert Ali Abbas told Shafaq News the agreement would mark “a strategic step toward ending one of the most complex disputes between Baghdad and Erbil,” while helping to recover lost revenues and ease pressure on Iraq’s strained public finances.
He added that resuming flows through Ceyhan would strengthen Iraq’s ability to meet its export commitments, reassure foreign investors affected by the suspension, and stabilize supply to global markets, particularly Europe, which has become increasingly reliant on Iraqi crude amid regional tensions.
