Friday, March 29, 2024

Baghdad

Oil companies suspend production in Iraqi Kurdistan

 Oil companies suspend production in Iraqi Kurdistan

Oil well pump. Photo: AFP

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – At least three oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq suspended or reduced their oil production on Wednesday following the suspension of oil exports from a pipeline in northern Iraq, with more disruptions expected in the future.

Iraq was forced to suspend about 450 thousand barrels per day of crude exports, or 0.5 percent of global supplies, from the Kurdistan region on Saturday through a pipeline extending from Kirkuk oilfields in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The halt contributed to an increase in oil prices in the past days, to return to nearly 80 USD per barrel.

Turkey stopped pumping Iraqi crude from the pipeline after Iraq won an arbitration case in which it said Ankara violated a joint agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil to the port of Ceyhan without Baghdad’s approval.

Oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region were forced to stop production or move production to storage tanks.

The storage tanks are expected to reach their maximum capacity within days, as talks continue between Turkey, Baghdad and the KRG to resume exports.