On Thursday, March 13, Canadian oil company ShaMaran Petroleum Corp, which operates in the Kurdistan Region, published their 2024 results and announced they had doubled their working interest production to a record of over 21,000 barrels of oil per day.

“ShaMaran’s performance in 2024 was transformational. We completed the accretive acquisition of the additional working interest in Atrush and more than doubled our working interest production to a record of over 21,000 barrels of oil per day,” Garrett Soden, President and CEO of ShaMaran, said in a press release.

“We finished the year with working interest proved and probable reserves of nearly 72 million barrels of oil, a reserves replacement ratio of greater than 200%. ShaMaran generated almost $98 million of cash flow from operations in 2024, more than double that of 2023.”

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 potential Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline reopening is expected to increase our cash flow and accelerate our timeframe for debt repayment and possible capital distributions,” he added.

ShaMaran said the closure continues to have a material impact on ShaMaran’s operations and financial results. “The Company is actively engaging with the relevant parties to resume pipeline exports.”

On February 2, the Iraqi parliament voted for an amendment to the Iraqi federal budget law stipulating the cost of extracting and transporting the Kurdistan Region’s oil, paving the legal way to resume Kurdish oil exports.

But so far exports have not resumed. The continued delay has severely impacted the Kurdistan Region’s economy and led to a significant reduction in government revenues.

Meanwhile, despite multiple agreements and negotiations, Baghdad has not fully reinstated the Kurdistan Region’s full share of the federal budget. The ongoing disputes over oil revenues and financial entitlements have strained relations between Erbil and Baghdad, affecting public sector salaries and overall economic stability in the region.

Read More: U.S. Security Advisor Urges Baghdad to Work With KRG

U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on March 9, and urged the Iraqi government to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to address remaining contract disputes owed to U.S. oil companies.

“The National Security Advisor urged the Iraqi government to work with the KRG to address remaining contract disputes and pay arrears owed to U.S. energy companies, and also requested that the Iraqi government retain an investment coordinator to work with U.S. companies seeking to invest and operate in Iraq,” Waltz posted on X.

Furthermore, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, which represents several international oil companies in the Kurdistan, in a statement on March 7 reiterated that they are ready to immediately resume exports “as the conditions communicated repeatedly since November 2023 are met, that treats oil producers in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region in a similar manner as oil producers in Federal Iraq.”