More than a month and a half after stopping sales of oil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on March 25, estimated at 450,000 barrels per day via Turkey, following the issuance of the international arbitration decision in Paris in favor of Baghdad, which cost Iraq huge losses, it is expected that sales will resume through the port of Ceyhan. Al-Turki is under the supervision of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, but the Turkish response to the Iraqi request has not yet been issued.
Where the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani revealed that the Turkish authorities had been informed of the resumption of export operations from the northern port – the port of Ceyhan – as of Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company ” SOMO ” had informed the Turkish company BOTAS to resume export and loading operations, as of Saturday, May 13, 2023.
The statement confirmed, “The completion of the conclusion of contracts with international companies for the sale and marketing of crude oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, according to the mechanisms adopted by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company SOMO.”
Turkish election factor
Observers believe that due to the preoccupation with the Turkish elections, the response to the Iraqi request to start pumping the oil of the Kurdistan region again through Turkey will be delayed after the dust of the presidential race has settled, and the nature of the new directions and approaches of the winner in the presidential race for various regional issues and files, including the Iraqi Kurdistan oil file, becomes clear. This increases the cost of the loss incurred by Iraq as a result of stopping the sale of about 500 thousand barrels of oil per day.
Opinion of the Ministry of Oil
A spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Asim Jihad, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy”:
We have notified the Turkish authorities of our readiness to start pumping and loading the region’s oil through Turkey, and we are awaiting the response of the Turkish party, which has not yet arrived.
The international decision was clear in the need for the “SOMO” company to be the only party authorized to pump Iraqi oil through Turkey, and the international court imposed a fine on it in the range of one billion and 800 million dollars, and Ankara also had claims of up to 500 million dollars, and the court approved it as well.
Thus, Iraq is committed to the decision and has completed its technical and contractual procedures to resume oil pumping operations and is awaiting the commitment and approval of the Turkish side, since Iraq is affected by the cessation of pumping and Turkey as well, which benefits from the fees and operation of the port.
Export rates, if they start, will be around half a million barrels of oil per day, and we hope to receive a positive response to serve the interests of both countries.
The language of common interests
In turn, Azad Ahmed, a journalist expert in Turkish affairs, says in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy”:
The issue of re-exporting the region’s oil via Turkey will remain pending, perhaps for weeks and months, especially if the opposition candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, wins the presidency, as it will undoubtedly change many of Ankara’s policies and directions, especially in Iraq and Syria.
The entire agreement governing this export may be reviewed and amended, or new conditions and demands may be put in place, even if the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins another presidential term.
Therefore, Baghdad has no choice but to pressure and address Ankara in the language of common interests again during the coming period, since the daily volume of revenues from Iraqi oil stopped through the Turkish port of Ceyhan is estimated at about 35 million dollars, which reveals the enormity of the loss incurred by Iraq, as sales have been suspended since more than 50 days.
The oil agreement
On April 4, an agreement was signed between Baghdad and Erbil, in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, regarding the resumption of the sale of the region’s oil under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Oil and the National Oil Company SOMO.
This article was originally published by Sky News.
