In a statement released on Thursday, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which represents several international oil companies in the Kurdistan Region, welcomed the November 5 decision by the Iraqi Council of Ministers to amend the Iraqi budget law.
?Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan statement on progress to restore oil exports:
— APIKUR (@apikur_oil) November 13, 2024
APIKUR member companies welcome the Iraqi Parliament’s proposal to amend Article 12 of the Budget Law and believe that there could be sufficient scope in the current wording to…
“APIKUR member companies welcome the Iraqi Parliament’s proposal to amend Article 12 of the Budget Law and believe that there could be sufficient scope in the current wording to cover our previous requests related to commercial terms and surety of payment for past and future exports via the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP),” APIKUR said in a statement.
Read More: Oil Companies in Kurdistan Call For Renewed Talks on Oil Exports
On March 25, 2023, Kurdish crude exports through Turkiye were stopped after an international arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, halting 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil exports to international markets.
“We remain ready to engage in productive discussions with Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials to clarify key details and finalize written agreements prior to resuming oil exports through the ITP,” APIKUR added.
Read More: Iraqi Government Approves Kurdistan Oil Exports
Moreover, APIKUR said they agree with the stance asserted by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani during a meeting in Erbil yesterday, “that the resumption of oil exports through the ITP benefits all of the people of Iraq.”
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani on Wednesday visited the Kurdistan Region to discuss relations between Erbil and Baghdad and was received by Prime Minister Barzani.
During talks with Prime Minister @mohamedshia, I stressed the need to decouple payments to the Kurdistan Region from political disputes.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) November 13, 2024
We agreed the resumption of oil exports serves the interests of the whole country, and reaffirmed the coordination between Erbil and Baghdad. pic.twitter.com/N8ngrKcZIE
The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Media Office in a readout said that the two officials had discussed “the efforts to resume oil exports from the region.”
“We agreed the resumption of oil exports serves the interests of the whole country, and reaffirmed the coordination between Erbil and Baghdad,” Prime Minister Barzani posted after the meeting.
