KRI official expresses concern over Baghdad's undisbursed financial dues

Shafaq News / Fawzi Hariri, Chief of Staff at the Presidency Office of the Kurdistan Region (KRI), asserted on Tuesday that the federal government's failure to release financial dues to the region is viewed as "unlawful and unjust."

Hariri emphasized that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) holds the rightful prerogative to take necessary actions in "defense of the Kurdish people's rights." He stressed that the Kurdish leadership is aligned with the government's stance on this matter.

KRG faces challenges meeting employee salaries due to its inability to rely on local revenues.

As per Awat Janab Noori, the Kurdish Minister of Finance and Economy, KRG previously received a monthly allocation of 720 billion dinars from oil revenues, historically covering 80% of salary costs. The remaining funds were drawn from local revenue streams. However, local revenues alone have proven insufficient to sustain salary disbursements.

The financial predicament in the KRG stems from an arbitration case initiated by the Iraqi government, submitted to the Arbitration Board of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. The case pertains to crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Turkish port of Ceyhan without the involvement of the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company "SOMO."

Resulting of the arbitration decision, Kurdistan's oil exports, amounting to 480,000 barrels per day, have remained suspended since March 25, with no resumption as of yet.

It's important to note that these suspended flows account for a mere 0.5% of the global oil supply.

Furthermore, the Iraqi draft budget law for 2023 stipulates that Iraq must export 3,500,000 barrels per day, including 400,000 barrels from Kurdistan, at a rate of $70 per barrel, with a substantial portion being transported via the Turkish port of Ceyhan.