U.S. DoS pursues resumption of Kurdish oil exports via Turkish pipeline

Shafaq News / The U.S. State Department stated on Friday that it maintains constant communication with officials in Baghdad, Ankara, Erbil, and American companies to resume the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region via the Ceyhan Port pipeline in Turkiye.

Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press conference in Washington, "Developing various means to deliver Iraqi energy to global markets serves the interests of both Iraq and the United States."

He added, "We are in direct and ongoing communication with all parties affected by the halt in oil exports, regarding the reopening of the Iraqi-Turkish oil pipeline."

Ankara halted flows on March 25, 2023, after an arbitration ruling found it violated the 1973 treaty by facilitating oil exports from the Kurdistan Region without Baghdad's federal government approval.

The court ordered Ankara to pay $1.5 billion in compensation to Baghdad for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018. The ongoing second arbitration covers the period from 2018 onwards. Two sources familiar with the case said the two countries remain embroiled in a long-term legal dispute.

Meanwhile, Iraq owes Turkiye minimal payments as long as the pipeline operates technically — estimated at about $25 million monthly by consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie — as part of the treaty, theoretically providing an incentive to resume flows.