The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan on March 2 said there was no deal to resume oil exports through northern Iraq into Turkey, dashing hopes after reports that Baghdad had reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies.
“We have not even seen any proposals” as required if Baghdad and the KRG had reached any agreement, APIKUR said in a statement. The group represents most international upstream oil and gas companies based in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, including DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, HKN Energy and ShaMaran Petroleum.There continued to be no exports from northern Iraq via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, as a bilateral political and financial dispute that also involves the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government and oil companies operating in the region has yet to be resolved.
The exports through the Ceyhan port in Turkey were halted on March 23, 2023, after Turkey closed the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline connecting fields to the port due to an international arbitration ruling.
The Ceyhan exports were typically composed primarily of around 375,000 b/d of Kurdish Blend Test and about 75,000 b/d of Kirkuk grade. Some of the crude has been sold to local merchants at discounted prices.
The reports of an agreement came out of coverage at a forum in Antalya, Turkey.
Companies operating in the KRG have asked the US for assistance, with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani scheduled to visit the White House in April, according to Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesperson for APIKUR.
“APIKUR member companies need surety of payment for past and future oil exports,” he said.
Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on March 2 concluded a nine-day visit to the US where he urged the White House and U.S. Congress to help break the impasse. “The lack of exports has hurt everyone — costing billions in lost revenues. It makes no sense,” Barzani said in a March 1 message on X, formerly Twitter, after meeting White House energy advisor Amos J. Hochstein.
Barzani also said he met with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Feb. 26.
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