International companies informed not to buy crude oil from Kurdistan
Headquarters of the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO). Photo: Egypt Oil & Gas
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) announced on Monday that it informed international companies not to purchase crude oil from the Kurdistan region, according to statements cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
INA also reported that SOMO stressed that Kurdistan Regional Government is obligated to implement the decision of the Federal Supreme Court.
The head of Iraq’s state-owned oil marketer SOMO, Alaa al-Yasiri, said in a statement that the Federal Supreme Court issued a decision stipulating that all contracts concluded by Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the extraction and export of crude oil are invalid.
Al-Yasiri explained that the Ministry of Oil followed flexible mechanisms to refer the whole issue to the federal government, but the matter was not welcomed by Kurdistan Regional Government, the thing that forced the ministry to take legal measures.
Al-Yasiri indicated that the quantities of crude oil exported from Kurdistan last year were 420 thousand barrels per day, and this year, the exported quantities of crude oil decreased to 355 thousand barrels per day.
Al-Yasiri confirmed that Kurdistan government sells crude oil at lower prices than the central government.
Kurdistan sells crude oil at discounts ranging from 16-20 USD per barrel, although the sale takes place in the same region and with the same quality of oil, according to Reuters.