Iraqi Kurdistan’s PM visits Turkey to discuss oil exports resumption
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, and the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, arrived in Turkey on Tuesday to hold talks with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on topics including the resumption of oil exports from northern Iraq.
Erdogan met with Barzani at the presidential palace in Ankara, the Turkish Presidency said via Twitter.
A Kurdish official close to Barzani’s office stated that various issues, including security in the region, should be discussed, but oil exports will be a top priority, Sky News Arabia reported.
Turkey halted oil exports of 450,000 barrels per day from northern Iraq through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline on March 25 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) issued its ruling in an arbitration case.
The ICC obliged Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in compensation for damages caused by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) export of oil without permission from the federal government in Baghdad between 2014 and 2018.
Another Kurdish official based in Baghdad said that Barzani’s visit aims to find ways to accelerate the resumption of oil exports, which are a vital source of cash for the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Turkey wishes to negotiate the compensation that the arbitration decision ordered it to pay and seeks clarification of other arbitration cases still open.
The KRG lost more than $2.2 billion due to the 87-day pipeline shutdown, based on oil exports of 375,000 barrels per day and historic price cuts by the KRG against Brent Crude prices, according to Reuters.
A Turkish technical delegation concerned with energy met with Iraqi officials in the oil sector on Monday to discuss issues related to oil exports.
Iraqi officials told Reuters that further talks would be needed in order to resume oil exports from northern Iraq.
The KRG Prime Minister’s Office mentioned in a statement that Barzani is also scheduled to meet with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs and senior government officials to discuss ways to strengthen relations between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Turkey.