Foreign oil contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan not affected by Baghdad deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Apr 2023 18:52

This comes after Baghdad and Erbil earlier reached a deal to restore oil exports to Turkey through the Iraqi-Turkey line after halting it for almost a week.

A worker in an oil field in Iraq (Reuters)

The oil agreement that was concluded on Tuesday between Baghdad and Erbil will not affect the contracts of foreign companies operating in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Sputnik said, citing a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament.

Responding to a question about whether foreign oil companies in Kurdistan will receive guarantees from the agreement, Amanji Harki said responded, "Yes, for sure. The only thing that will change is that the sale will be through the SOMO company, and nothing else will change with regard to contracts, the way companies treat you, welcome you, etc."

Harki also indicated that the two oil and gas budget laws will be adopted within 2-3 months.

“The first step will be a permanent agreement on the budget law, which makes the agreement reached yesterday effective, and after the budget law is approved, the oil and gas law will be developed and put to a vote in parliament, so we are talking about a time frame of 2-3 months," he said.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi government and Erbil signed an agreement stipulating that Baghdad assumes full supervision over the export of oil from the Iraqi Kurdistan region's fields, which allows the resumption of oil exports again through the Turkish port of Ceyhan; the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline.

Oil from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region will be sold and exported through Iraqi state-owned firm SOMO, and sales returns will be deposited in Baghdad's central bank under Erbil's control, while the Iraqi government will have access to the account and auditing authority.

Last week, exports of nearly 450,000 barrels per day to Turkey have been stopped due to a ruling by a Paris Court of Arbitration that Ankara violated a bilateral treaty with Baghdad by allowing Iraqi Kurdistan to launch independent oil exports in 2014.

Reuters reported earlier that Baghdad and Erbil finalized an agreement on Tuesday to restore oil flow into the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani then went to Baghdad and formalized the deal with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani.

"Everyone must abide by this agreement and implement it," Al-Sudani said in a joint press conference with Barzani, adding that the agreement was temporary until the budget bill is approved by the parliament.

The bill "will cover all obligations and solve all problems," the Iraqi PM concluded.