KRG Council of Ministers Urges Swift Resumption of Oil Exports

September 04, 2025

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers convened and urged the KRG’s negotiation team to push for the swift resumption of Kurdistan Region oil exports through the State Organization of Marketing of Oil (SOMO) during their upcoming meeting in Baghdad.

The KRG delegation will travel to Baghdad today and will be led by Kamal Mohammed, Acting Minister of Natural Resources, along with Omed Sabah, Head of the Diwan, and Amanj Raheem, Secretary of the Council of Ministers.

On March 25, 2023, Kurdish crude oil exports through Turkey 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.

So far, the oil exports have not resumed, although the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources reached a deal with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil on August 11 on a new mechanism for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

“Since the Ministries of Oil and Natural Resources, together with the North Oil Company and SOMO, have already signed a joint protocol for restarting oil exports, the necessary facilitation measures have been taken on the KRG side to remove obstacles, and work continues to restore production levels to what they were prior to the recent terrorist attacks against the region’s oil fields and facilities,” the Council of Ministers said.

In mid-July several oil fields were hit by drone attacks, including oil fields run by U.S. and Norwegian companies. As a result, the Kurdistan Region’s oil production levels were reduced temporarily.

The oil company Gulf Keystone, which was not hit by the drone strikes, said last week that it would gradually return to full well capacity after coordination with the KRG. The Norwegian company DNO, which was hit in mid-July, said it had ramped up gross production.

Furthermore, the KRG Council of Ministers also emphasized that oil and non-oil revenues should not become obstacles to the payment of salaries and entitlements of KRG public employees, “which regrettably has been the case.”

In July, the KRG and the federal government reached a deal for the KRG to deliver 230,000 barrels of oil per day and 120 billion Iraqi dinars monthly from non-oil revenues to the Iraqi government in exchange for the payment of the salaries of government employees. However, there were still delays in salaries.

“The Council noted that, as of September, salaries are still delayed, with public employees only now receiving their June salaries. It reiterated that the salaries and rights of KRG public employees should not be entangled with the political and financial disputes between the two governments, in line with the rulings of the Federal Supreme Court.”