The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), which represents several international oil companies in the Kurdistan Region, on Monday welcomed the Iraqi budget amendment approved by the Iraqi parliament expected to pave the way for resumed Kurdish oil exports.

“APIKUR welcomes the Iraqi Council of Representatives Budget Law amendment, and remains focused on reaching agreements to restore oil exports through the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline,” said APIKUR spokesperson Myles B. Caggins III.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday also welcomed the amendment’s passage

Read More: KRG PM Hails Iraqi Parliament’s Budget Amendment

“I hope that this positive step in amending the budget law will be the beginning of resolving all other disputes and the federal government’s commitment to provide financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region,” he posted on X.

On March 25, 2023, Kurdish crude oil 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.

The amendment, approved by the Council of Ministers in a meeting chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in November, stipulates that the federal Ministry of Finance will provide an advance compensation of $16 per barrel of oil for production and transportation costs.

The KRG Ministry of Natural Resources also welcomed the amendment and called on the Iraqi Federal Ministry of Oil to implement the amendment and prepare the necessary technical arrangements.

Iraqi Minister of Oil Hayyan Abdul Ghani told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the Ministry of Oil has begun its efforts with the KRG by officially submitting a formal request to transfer oil properly to SOMO the need to enable the federal government to receive the region’s oil products and export them through the national company.

He added that "there are ongoing procedures with the Turkish government to prepare the Iraq-Turkey pipeline for exporting oil through the Ceyhan port."

Abdul Ghani clarified that "the specified quantities will not be less than 300,000 barrels per day from the Kurdistan region's oil, which will be delivered to the federal Ministry of Oil and exported through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline."