The U.S. Administration wants to ensure that the just-restarted oil exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan continue to flow via pipeline to Turkey in the long run, an anonymous official at the U.S. Department of State told Bloomberg on Friday.
The Trump Administration is working toward the goal of keeping Kurdistan’s crude flowing in the long term to boost the Iraqi economy, counter Iran’s influence in the region, and benefit U.S. companies operating in Iraq, according to the official.
The U.S. has played a role in the deal that allowed the resumption of the exports from Kurdistan, the official told Bloomberg.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented last week on the agreement to restart exports, saying on X “We welcome the announcement that the Government of Iraq has reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government and international companies to reopen the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline. This deal, facilitated by the United States, will bring tangible benefits for both Americans and Iraqis while reaffirming Iraq’s sovereignty.”
Kurdistan’s oil exports resumed on Saturday, September 27, following a two and a half year suspension of the flows via the pipeline from northern Iraq to the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
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Eight foreign companies operating in Kurdistan have signed agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq to enable the restart of international crude exports from Kurdistan.
This agreement paved to way to the restart of exports, which were halted for two and a half years, after they were shut in in March 2023 due to a dispute over who should authorize the Kurdish exports.
The federal government in Baghdad and the regional Kurdish government in Erbil squabbled for more than two years over who should be responsible for the oil exports and the subsequent revenue distribution.
Under the agreement, hailed as historic by Iraq’s federal government, KRG is delivering about 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to Iraqi state marketing company SOMO. Kurdistan is also entitled to keep 50,000 bpd to use for local consumption.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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