The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) in a statement on March 23 said it has urged senior members of President Joe Biden’s administration and members of U.S. Congress to cancel the planned April 15 visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani to Washington, D.C.
“Prior to the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani to Washington, the Government of Iraq must take action to restore oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) and implement a fair budget for Iraq’s Kurdistan Region,” Myles B. Caggins III, spokesman for APIKUR, told Kurdistan Chronicle.
APIKUR, which represents several international oil companies (IOCs) in the Kurdistan Region, said the visit should not proceed unless the ITP is reopened, allowing oil produced in the Kurdistan Region to be exported to international markets.
“It is important that the White House focus on more than security and troop levels during the Iraqi prime minister’s forthcoming visit,” Caggins emphasized. “The United States pumps more than $1 billion each year into Iraq’s treasury for direct military assistance and development aid; meanwhile, the Government of Iraq refuses to maximize its own revenue by allowing oil exports—including from U.S.-owned companies—from the Kurdistan Region to global markets.”
Moreover, APIKUR said IOCs should receive surety of payment for past and future oil exports and Baghdad should fully implement the Iraqi federal budget for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The KRG in a statement on March 16 said that Baghdad has yet to fully disburse the owed budget of 9.4 trillion Iraqi dinars to the Kurdistan Region – as mandated by financial agreements – including the portion of sovereign expenditures, such as salaries for the peshmerga forces.
Financial Impact of halt of oil exports through Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline:
— APIKUR (@apikur_oil) March 23, 2024
• Estimated revenue loss to Iraq of $11+ billion, approximately $1 billion each month
• APIKUR understands that while ITP remains unused, Iraq accrues more than $800,000 in daily penalties for failure to…
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. This has blocked 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil exports.
As a result, the ITP has now been closed for one year, despite negotiations between Ankara, Erbil, and Baghdad.
According to APIKUR estimates, the stop in oil exports has led to a loss in revenue to Iraq of more than $11 billion, approximately $1 billion each month.
The APIKUR noted that Baghdad “has not taken the required actions to reopen the ITP and enable oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, despite Türkiye’s announcement in October 2023 that the pipeline is operational and ready to export oil.”
Moreover, it said that despite meetings between representatives of the Government of Iraq, the KRG, and IOCs, there has been no real progress on reopening the ITP.
Read More: Prime Minister Barzani Concludes U.S. Visit
Last month, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani visited Washington and discussed with U.S. officials ways to accelerate the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.
It is expected that this issue will also be discussed during Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani’s visit to Washington in April.
