Iraq Suffers $25 Billion Loss from Halting Kurdistan Region Exports
According to the English section of webangah News Agency,citing Mehr News Agency and Al-Nashra,Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein told Bloomberg that Iraq has incurred losses between $22 billion and $25 billion as an inevitable result of suspended oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that it is still awaiting a response from the federal Ministry of Oil regarding the possible resumption of kurdistan’s oil exports. Meanwhile,Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) emphasized that an agreement is nearing its final stages.
prewa Hormi, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, explained that exports could resume within 48 hours after a complete agreement is finalized.
In this context, Iraqi officials have called on both the Kurdish regional government and representatives from international oil companies to convene a new meeting to discuss details on restarting exports and securing guarantees for settling outstanding financial debts.
The resumption of transfers through the pipeline linking Kurdistan and turkey is expected initially to move around 230,000 barrels per day into global markets. This comes amid concerns about an oversupply spurred by increased production from OPEC+ coalition members.
Before halting its exports in March 2023, Iraqi Kurdistan produced and shipped roughly 500,000 barrels per day. However, after an arbitration ruling requiring Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion, Turkey ceased using its pipelines for transporting Iraqi oil. In July,Kurdistan agreed to deliver its oil to SOMO for international sales management-a step aimed at easing long-standing disputes over oil revenues.
