BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil ministry announced Saturday the resumption of oil exports from northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The exports had been halted for nearly two years after the International Chamber of Commerce sided with Iraq in an arbitration case as a long-standing dispute over the independent export of oil by the Kurdish regional government.
The ministry said in a statement that it had completed the necessary procedures to restart shipments through Turkiye’s Ceyhan port.
It said that exports will resume in accordance with federal budget regulations and Iraq’s OPEC production quota, according to the “agreed-upon framework.”
The ministry urged the Kurdish region’s authorities to transfer crude oil extracted from the region’s oil fields to the State Organization for Marketing of Oil, facilitating its exports via the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline.
“We call on the regional authorities to deliver the produced quantities in line with signed contracts to ensure smooth operations,” it said.
Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, have long been at odds over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Baghdad called the move “smuggling” and “robbery” and filed a case against Turkiye in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkiye was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973.
The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company, while Kurdish authorities have said the practice is meant to compensate for budget transfers withheld from the Kurdish region by Baghdad.
Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad’s favor.
Iraq says oil exports from Kurdish region by way of Turkiye set to resume
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Iraq says oil exports from Kurdish region by way of Turkiye set to resume
- Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad’s favor
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
