ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A negotiating delegation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) consisting of a senior team of the Ministry of Natural Resources met with oil and gas production companies on Sunday in Erbil.
The meeting covered the most recent developments in the negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad regarding the oil laws and budget, as well as the actions taken by the KRG to protect the region's constitutional rights and find a solution.
The meeting also expressed the Kurdistan Region's desire to resume oil exports as soon as possible with the representatives of the companies, which requires finding a common understanding of all parties on the cost of production and transportation of oil.
Moreover, the meeting addressed the challenges faced by oil companies in the past few years, which have been created for them due to the economic situation.
Finally, both sides decided to continue such joint meetings to find common solutions, resolve outstanding issues, and resume oil exports, which will play an important role in the economic recovery of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
The export of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline has been halted since March 25 after Iraq claimed victory against Türkiye at a Paris-based international court for allowing the KRG to independently export its oil.
Earlier on Dec. 5, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) expressed its concern that Kurdish and Iraqi natural resource officials did not invite representatives from the organization to bilateral meetings.
APIKUR member companies complained they have “neither been included in these meetings nor been invited to participate in any future meetings between the KRG and GOI [Government of Iraq].”
Https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/33408-KRG-delegation,-oil-and-gas-companies’-reps-address-resuming-oil-exports
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani on Monday told Rudaw that both Erbil and Baghdad are working on adjusting the Region’s contracts with the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to the Iraqi constitution and expressed optimism about a prompt resumption of Kurdish oil exports.
Ghani arrived in Erbil on Sunday accompanied by an Iraqi oil ministry delegation, and met with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Natural Resources Minister Kamal Muhammad Salih, to discuss the outstanding issues between the Region and Baghdad over the resumption of the Kurdish oil exports.
The oil minister told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman that during his meetings with Kurdish officials, the nature of the Region’s contracts with the IOCs was discussed, noting that the KRG’s natural resources ministry presented a “complete explanation” of the economic model and the details of the contracts.
The IOCs and the KRG are bound by Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), which Ghani noted are against the Iraqi constitution, adding that the Iraqi government licenses companies under Profit Sharing Contracts.
“We have a project to adjust those contracts with the laws that are allowed by the Iraqi constitution,” Ghani said.
Under the Kurdistan Region’s PSC model, the IOCs cover the entire cost of production while the KRG receives the lion’s share of the profits from successful projects.
In August, Myles Caggins, the spokesperson of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) told Rudaw English that the association members would not produce oil unless there was an agreement and a full understanding of how much they would get paid.
Caggins said the oil companies would receive $6 per barrel based on discussions that have taken place with Baghdad, stressing that this is “not enough.” He warned that if an agreement is not reached, APIKUR members would take the matter to a London arbitration court.
Ghani said the oil ministry has agreed with the KRG officials to hold meetings with the representatives of the IOCs in the Kurdistan Region, adding that they will try to reach a solution that satisfies all parties.
The Iraqi official said that the resumption of Kurdish oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port was also discussed at the meeting, stressing that both sides “were serious about restarting production and exports of oil,” and expressing optimism that oil exports will soon resume.
Exports of Kurdistan Region’s oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been halted since March 23 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
According to the Iraqi federal budget the Kurdistan Region is obliged to hand over, on a daily basis, at least 400,000 barrels of crude oil to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) to be exported through Turkey’
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani will visit Erbil on Sunday to meet with the Kurdistan Region’s natural resources minister for discussions about resuming exports of Kurdish oil.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani said that Abdul Ghani’s visit comes following an agreement between Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani for a federal government delegation to visit Erbil and discuss resolving the outstanding oil issues.
“The main topic of the meetings will be the issue of the cost of oil production, and the procedures for resuming the Region’s oil exports,” wrote Hawramani on X (formerly Twitter).
The federal government delegation will spend two or three days in the Kurdistan Region capital, he added.
Exports of Kurdistan Region’s oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been halted since March 23 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
Erbil and Baghdad have had multiple rounds of talks about restarting the exports. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani last week said the problem now is technical rather than political.
Areas where they still need to reach an agreement include existing contracts between the KRG and oil companies, according to Barzani.
Representatives of the Iraqi government and oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday held their first meeting in Dubai, stressing the need to resume full oil production and exports “under mutually acceptable commercial terms,” the oil producers association stated.
Control over oil exports and revenues has long been a source of friction between Erbil and Baghdad.
Shafaq News/ A delegation from the Iraqi government, led by the Oil Minister, is scheduled to visit Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, on Sunday.
The official spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Peshwa Hawrami, said, "Federal Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani, along with his accompanying delegation, is set to visit the Kurdistan Region tomorrow."
Hawrami highlighted that this visit follows an agreement between the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani to address issues related to the oil file.
"The primary focus of the meetings will revolve around the challenges concerning oil production expenses and the procedures for resuming the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region," he noted, adding that "the delegation is expected to remain in the Region for two to three days."
Oil is Iraq's most valuable natural resource. It accounts for over 90% of the country's exports and is a significant source of government revenue. The oil fields in Kurdistan are precious and have been a source of conflict between the Kurdish and Iraqi governments.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government have been at odds over the control of oil revenues for many years. The KRG has argued that it should have the right to control its territory's oil and sell it independently. The Iraqi government has argued that the oil belongs to all Iraqis and that the KRG should not be allowed to sell it independently.
Iraq must pay despite winning arbitration case against Turkey
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/13042023
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq claimed last month that it had won the oil export arbitration case against Turkey, and while Ankara has been ordered to pay around $1.5bn in damages, Baghdad must also pay compensation for the cases it lost as stipulated by the court ruling seen by Rudaw English.
The Paris-based court ruling ordered Turkey to pay over $1.9bn in compensation to Iraq for buying oil from the Kurdistan Region at a discounted price and for charging higher transportation fees. Baghdad “claimed that the Respondent [Turkey] has been overpaid by the KRG for the transportation of oil,” the case file read.
In the case, Iraq had argued that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had paid transportation fees to the Turkish state-owned Turkish Energy Company. Baghdad also claimed that the KRG sold oil at a discounted price to what it would have been sold by Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).
In turn, Iraq is liable to pay over $527 million to Turkey in reimbursement claims related to equipment and personnel. The court “ORDERS the Respondent [Turkey] to pay forthwith to the Claimant [Iraq] the sum of USD 1,471,390,486.05 after set off of the amounts” before interest.
The ruling states that “the Respondent [Turkey] is obligated to act in accordance with instructions given by the Claimant [Iraq] in operating the Turkish portion of the Pipelines, as well as the related storage and loading facilities at Ceyhan,” and that Iraq has full authority over the utilization of the facilities.
Additionally, the Paris-based court blamed Turkey for violating Iraq’s “persistent and genuine” instructions and accused Ankara of willingly violating Baghdad’s position by loading oil coming through the pipeline on the instructions of the KRG and not Iraq’s Ministry of Oil.
Arbitration court ruling
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration court ruled late March that Turkey had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement that obliges the Turkish government to abide by instructions issued by Iraq regarding the transport of crude oil exported from Iraq. Iraq welcomed the ruling, claiming to be triumphant.
However, Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources then issued a statement arguing that the court had in fact rejected four of Iraq’s five claims, without mentioning what these were, adding that Iraq should in fact pay Turkey compensation.
Following the decision, Turkey informed Iraq that Ankara would no longer allow KRG crude to be loaded onto ships at Ceyhan port without permission from Baghdad.
With Kurdish authorities scrambling to intensify negotiations following the arbitration court ruling, Erbil and Baghdad struck an agreement in early April to resume the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports during Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi prem