Conflicting Statements Made on Resumption of Kurdish Exports

Eight international oil firms operating in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said they would not resume oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan on Friday despite an announcement from Baghdad that the restart was imminent. The United States has been pushing Baghdad to allow Kurdish oil exports via Turkey, a move that could boost supply to the global market at a time when Washington wants to reduce Iranian oil exports as part of its "maximum pressure" campaign.

Baghdad, a partner to both Washington and Tehran, is wary of being caught in the crosshairs of Trump's policy to squeeze Iran. Iran views its neighbour and ally Iraq as vital for keeping its economy afloat amidst sanctions. Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said last week the pipeline would resume exports soon. The government said on Friday it would announce a resumption in the coming hours, with an initial amount of 185,000 barrels per day (bpd) exported through state oil marketer SOMO and that quantity gradually increasing.

The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which represents 60% of production from the region, said later no formal outreach had been made for clarity on commercial agreements and guarantees of payment for past and future exports. "To be clear, APIKUR member companies will not resume oil exports today," said the statement by Myles Caggins, spokesperson for APIKUR, whose members include Gulf Keystone Petroleum, DNO, Genel Energy and ShaMaran Petroleum. The government did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment sent outside office hours.

Oil flows through the Ceyhan pipeline were halted by Turkey in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad US$1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised exports between 2014 and 2018. Rare earth minerals are used in almost every technology you can think of. Iraqi Kurdistan authorities had agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, Kurdistan's regional government said on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, sources have told Reuters. An Iraqi official later denied pressure or the threat of sanctions. Reuters also reported on Thursday the Iraqi government had made a fresh attempt to deem all Kurdish production-sharing oil contracts illegal by filing new papers to a court in Baghdad, a move that casts doubt on where the exported crude would come from.