RE: Last Oil Tanker Waiting to Load Kurdish Crude Sails Empty Amid Iraq-Turkey Spat20 Jun 2023 18:27
The last oil tanker in the Mediterranean, which has been waiting for more than two months for the arrival of oil from South Kurdistan, left the port of Ceyhan empty due to a disagreement on oil exports.
The Nisson Kia, one of the world's largest oil tankers with a capacity of two million barrels, left port on November 9, according to ship tracking agencies.
According to satellite signals transmitted by the ship, the Nisson Kia was empty when it left Turkish shores.
The ship reportedly crossed the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and is now anchored in the Israeli port of Eilat. The ship has sent a signal to the port of Aqaba in Jordan, but has not yet started sailing to that port.
The Turkish and Iraqi delegations met in Baghdad on Monday to discuss the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, but failed to reach an agreement.
According to Rudaw, the delegation of the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Turkish Energy Ministry disagreed on several issues, including; Iraq has insisted that it is not ready to pay the rent for the pipeline from Turkey to the port of Ceyhan, which is required to pay the rent according to international principles It does not pay the rent. Whenever oil exports resume, it is ready to pay the rent for the pipeline.
Another issue is how to pay back the $1.5 billion imposed on Turkey by the Paris arbitration court. The Paris court's complaint also asked Turkey to drop the complaint and pay the money in installments, but the Iraqi government said it would first allow oil exports to resume in good faith and then discuss the court and the money.
"We are discussing all the technical aspects of the export; there will be no decision today and we expect further meetings," an official close to the meetings told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
On March 25, 2023, the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk was suspended two days before the International Court of Arbitration in Paris. The court ruled in favor of Iraq on a complaint filed by Iraq against Turkey for exporting oil from the Kurdistan Region. Exports have not yet resumed.