ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Oil producers in the Kurdistan Region on Friday called on US officials at the Munich Security Conference to encourage the Iraqi prime minister to reopen the pipeline with Turkey and allow for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.
In a statement, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) called for “urgent” action by the US Congress and the White House to facilitate the reopening of the Ceyhan pipeline between Turkey and Iraq.
APIKUR called on US officials present at the Munich Security Conference to use the “prime opportunity” presented by the event to discuss the issue directly with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, who is also present.
“Congressional action is imperative to influence Iraqi leaders to immediately resolve oil and budget issues that are harming Iraq’s economy and regional security interests,” APIKUR spokesperson Myles Caggins said.
The Kurdistan Region's oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port are yet to resume after being put on hold in late March following a ruling from a Paris-based arbitration court saying that Ankara had breached its 1973 pipeline agreement with Baghdad.
“We request your immediate assistance to pressure the Government of Iraq (GoI) to promptly take the steps required to reopen the Iraqi-Türkiye pipeline that serves as Kurdistan’s economic lifeline,” APIKUR said in a letter to the US House of Representatives on Monday.
Erbil and Baghdad have held numerous meetings since, but to no avail. In December, APIKUR said it had been excluded from the talks.
Before the halt, around 400,000 barrels a day were being exported by Erbil through Ankara, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk’s oil.
The loss in oil revenues, the KRG’s main source of income, has worsened the financial situation and left the government unable to pay its public sector without assistance from Baghdad.
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