ANKARA: Iraq’s northern oil export route through Turkiye will soon be ready to resume operation after checks on pipeline maintenance and repairs to flood damage, the Turkish energy minister said.
A survey of the oil pipeline is complete and it will soon be “technically” ready for operation, Alparslan Bayraktar said.
Turkiye halted flows on Iraq’s northern oil export route on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages for unauthorized exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018.
Turkiye then started maintenance work on the pipeline, which goes through a seismically active zone and which it says has been damaged by floods.
“As of today, the independent surveyor completed their survey and now they’re preparing their report,” Bayraktar said without mentioning a date for resumption of oil flows, in an embargoed press briefing held by the ministry on Thursday.
Iraq and Turkiye previously agreed to wait until maintenance works were complete before resuming the pipeline that contributes about 0.5 percent of global oil supply. Sources said oil flows are not expected to start before October, with KRG losing roughly $4 billion in lost exports.
Turkiye also calculates Iraq owes $950 million as a result of ICC arbitration, net of damages Turkiye has to pay Iraq.
Ankara will also file in the Paris court for a “set-aside case,” Bayraktar said. Iraq opened an enforcement case against Turkiye in a US federal court in April, to enforce a $1.5 billion arbitration award.
“As two neighboring countries, we need to find an amicable solution. But from the legality perspective, we need to take care of our interests. Most likely in the future we might face another court challenge. But the pipeline will be operational technically. It is more or less ready and we will start the operation soon,” Bayraktar said.
Ankara wants Baghdad to withdraw a second arbitration case covering the period from 2018 onward, and negotiate a reduced payment. Turkiye also wants Irbil and Baghdad to agree on a common position and negotiate the continuance of the pipeline agreement, which is set to expire in 2026.
Iraq-Turkiye oil pipeline ready to resume operations soon
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Iraq-Turkiye oil pipeline ready to resume operations soon
- Turkish minister said survey of oil pipeline is complete and it will soon be ready for operation
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
