The international companies part of the deal to restart Kurdistan’s oil exports have seen the lifting of the first cargo from the semi-autonomous Iraqi region for export from the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan since pipeline exports to the Mediterranean port resumed at the end of September.
London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum confirmed on Monday that a first lifting of Kurdistan crude allocated to it and other international oil companies for pipeline exports during September and October 2025 had been completed by the nominated trader at the Ceyhan oil terminal.
Payment for Gulf Keystone’s share of the first lifting is expected to be received within the next 30 days, in line with the interim exports agreements that were announced at the end of September.
A second lifting of Kurdistan crude for allocation to the foreign oil firms is planned for the end of November 2025, with subsequent liftings and payments anticipated thereafter, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said today.
Crude oil exports from Kurdistan via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the Turkish point of Ceyhan reached 205,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October.
Exports from Iraq’s northern region via the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline to Ceyhan resumed on September 27, after two and a half years of halt over disagreements between the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over how export revenues should be distributed.
Eight foreign companies operating in Kurdistan, including Gulf Keystone Petroleum, have signed agreements with the KRG and the Federal Government of Iraq to enable the restart of international crude exports from the region.
Under the agreement to restart oil exports, hailed as historic by Iraq’s federal government, KRG began delivering at the end of September about 190,000 bpd of crude to Iraqi state marketing company SOMO. Kurdistan is also entitled to keep 50,000 bpd to use for local consumption.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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