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The Real Reason Why Turkey Is Still Blocking KRG Oil

There has been much excitement in recent days among those who know nothing much worth knowing about the issue that the long-running ban on oil sales from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to Turkey may be lifted soon. Supposedly, the government of the Erbil-based semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan (the KRG) and the Baghdad-based Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) have agreed on a new mechanism for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Turkey Eyes New Deal with Iraq on Idled Oil Pipeline

The potential renegotiation is the latest step in the saga that started in March 2023, when Turkey closed the link after an arbitration court ordered the country to pay Iraq $1.5 billion over unauthorized exports. Numerous attempts to restart shipments have since failed – including due to disagreements between Iraq, its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and companies operating in the area.

Turkey Seeks Expanded Oil Cooperation With Iraq

The original agreement, first inked in 1973, concerns the pipeline carrying oil from the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. Flows along the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has a capacity for 1.6 million barrels daily, have now been suspended for two years amid a financial dispute between Ankara and Baghdad.