In a statement on April 22, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) underlined that there is no justification – in the 2005 Constitution or anywhere else – for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to obstruct oil exports from the KRG.

The MNR's statement was made in response to an announcement from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil that Iraq was ready to resume exports according to the law, and that the KRG’s production contracts with international oil companies (IOCs) in the Kurdistan Region “[had] not been approved by the federal government or the federal Ministry of Oil at all, as they lack a sound constitutional and legal basis.”

“As the [Ministry of Oil] well knows, there is no provision of the 2005 Constitution of Iraq that confers any power upon the [federal government] to ‘approve’ contracts issued by the KRG.” the KRG MNR said. “The legal basis for those production contracts is the 2007 KRG Oil and Gas Law, passed unanimously by the democratically-elected Kurdistan Region Parliament.”

In addition, the KRG MNR said that the Iraqi parliament had not yet passed an oil and gas law that is consistent with the 2005 Constitution.

On February 15, 2022, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq ruled that the 2007 KRG Oil and Gas Law was unconstitutional and annulled it.

The KRG MNR responded by stating that this “so-called ‘court’ was not convened in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 2005 Constitution.”

Moreover, it said that the KRG judiciary is properly constituted, and does not recognise the February 2022 order as the decision of a court.

“The fact is that no federal Iraqi institution, ‘court’ or otherwise, has the authority to invalidate the 2005 Constitution and invalidate KRG law,” it underlined.

On March 25, 2023, independent crude exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkey were stopped after an international arbitration in Paris ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara. 

The ruling has blocked nearly 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.

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According to a March 23 statement by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which represents several oil companies in the Kurdistan Region, the cessation in oil exports has led to a loss in revenue to Iraq of more than $11 billion.

So far, there have been several meetings between officials from the KRG and the federal government of Iraq to negotiate the resumption of exports, but to no avail.

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On April 15, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani and U.S. President Joe Biden in a joint statement affirmed the “importance of ensuring Iraqi oil can reach international markets and expressed their desire to reopen the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline.”

However, even the April 22 visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad and Erbil so far has not resulted in a new deal to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.

In a statement on April 23, APIKUR said they were hopeful that the visit by Turkish President Erdogan “will be a step towards a mutually beneficial resolution between the Governments of Türkiye, Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and International Oil Companies to restore exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline (ITP).”

“In the past week, the elected leaders of Iraq, Türkiye, Kurdistan Region, as well as the United States, have spoken about the importance of reopening the ITP export route.”

In addition, Bloomberg reported that Iraqi government spokesman Bassem Al-Awadi told reporters in Baghdad on April 22 that it will take longer to resume oil exports.

In January 2024, the KRG said that a deal was reached on the federal budget legislation that would address the technical matter of production costs in the Kurdistan Region.

On January 7-9, meetings were held between the federal government of Iraq, the KRG, and IOCs operating in the Kurdistan Region, but no progress was made to reopen oil exports.

Bloomberg reported on March 22 that Iraqi officials stated that Baghdad is studying an amendment to the federal budget that would enable Baghdad to pay international oil companies working in Kurdistan.

“It was our joint understanding that the legislation would be implemented and that exports would resume without further delay,” the KRG MNR said.

“We encourage the Federal Government of Iraq to adhere to the terms of the January agreement and to facilitate the resumption of exports. Those exports are vital to the prosperity of all of the peoples of Iraq. They are also vital to the peace and energy security of the international community,” the statement concluded.