Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Saturday that all procedures had been completed to allow the resumption of exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday that oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, resolving a near two-year dispute that has disrupted crude flows as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, sources have told Reuters. An Iraqi official later denied pressure or the threat of sanctions.
The federal government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held technical talks following the oil minister’s statements earlier this week to iron out details necessary for the resumption of exports, such as a payment mechanism acceptable to oil companies.
The Iraqi oil minister’s announcement comes after the Iraqi parliament approved on February 2 a budget amendment that set a rate of $16 per barrel for oil transport and production costs in Kurdistan.
The amendment also requires the KRG transfer its oil output to the state-run State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO)
The oil ministry in its Saturday statement asked the KRG to start delivering crude to SOMO in order for exports to resume.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Ahmed Tolba; writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Sharon Singleton)