The Federal Ministry of Oil of Iraq has announced that all procedures had been completed to allow the resumption of oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline. The ministry said that oil exports from the region will resume this week, resolving a two-year dispute between Baghdad and Erbil that disrupted crude flows through Kurdistan.
For several years, the Kurdistan Regional Government has been engaged in a political fight against the central government over its oil resources (about 3 Gbl of reserves according to Rystad, in comparison with 45 Gbl declared by the KRG, likely to include both unproven reserves and the disputed Kirkuk fields). Earlier in February 2025, Iraq's parliament approved a budget amendment to allow a restart of crude exports from the KRG at the rate of US$16/bbl, double the previous rate.
Kurdistan produces over 450 kb/d of crude oil and started to export oil independently in 2013 through a new crude oil pipeline delivering locally-produced oil to Ceyhan, in Türkiye. However, in 2022, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that Kurdistan's 2007 oil and gas law was unconstitutional, and required Kurdistan to deliver its entire oil production to the federal government.
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