Oil exports from northern Iraq to Turkey still suspended
A worker controlling pipeline valves at the Bai Hassan oil field, west of Kirkuk, Iraq. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sources mentioned on Thursday that oil exports from northern Iraq to Turkey have not been resumed yet, which means that several oilfields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq will continue to be closed, Reuters reported.
Turkey stopped the flow of about 450 thousand barrels per day, representing 0.5 percent of global oil supplies, through a pipeline extending from oil fields in Kirkuk in Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on March 25, after a ruling was issued in favor of Iraq in an arbitration case.
Iraq accused Turkey of violating a pipeline agreement dating back to 1973 by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil without Baghdad’s approval during the period from 2014 to 2018.
The federal government in Baghdad and the KRG signed a temporary agreement on Tuesday to resume oil exports from Kurdistan through Turkey, which made many officials hope that exports would resume on the same day.
A source preferred to remain anonymous told Reuters that the pipeline operators had not yet received any instructions regarding the resumption of oil pumping.
A different source said Iraq was waiting for a response from Turkey.
Another arbitration case also linked to the 1973 pipeline agreement and oil exports from 2018 onwards remains open.
Sources previously explained that Turkey wants to completely resolve this issue before pumping oil back through the pipeline, Reuters mentioned.
The issue forced oil companies in Kurdistan to stop production in several oil fields or reduce production after storage tanks were filled.
The spokesperson of Genel Energy, which operates the Sarta oil field in northern Iraq, said that work in the field was suspended on Thursday.
The field produced an average of 4,170 barrels per day last year.