Oil exports from Kurdistan relaunch following KRG-Baghdad deal

Shafaq News – Erbil

Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region resumed on Saturday through the Fishkhabour pipeline to Turkiye’s Ceyhan port, restarting at 190,000 barrels per day after more than two and a half years.

Shipments were halted in early 2022 after a legal dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq’s authorities challenged the KRG’s crude sales, arguing they violated the constitution. Exports later stopped when an international arbitration ruling upheld Baghdad’s position, requiring flows to be managed by the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

Before the shutdown, the Kurdistan Region exported about 450,000 barrels per day to Ceyhan.

The restart followed several rounds of negotiations between the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Iraq’s Oil Ministry. Both sides, along with international producers, reached a three-party arrangement under which SOMO will oversee exports and deliver Kurdish crude to Ceyhan.

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