Iraq, Kurds Agree to Resume Oil Flows After Dispute
April 04 2023 - 8:21AM
Dow Jones News
By Benoit Faucon and Michael Amon
The central Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities struck a
deal Tuesday that would end a standoff over oil sales that had
blocked nearly 500,000 barrels a day in exports and sent crude
prices rising.
Kurdish authorities said the deal would allow oil exports to
begin flowing again through a pipeline from Iraqi Kurdistan to the
Turkish port of Ceyhan, where crude often makes its way to Europe.
Oil companies that had shut off production in recent days said they
were planning to immediately restart operations.
The deal provides a short-term resolution to a long-standing
dispute between Iraqi authorities in Baghdad and the
semi-autonomous oil-rich region north, where Kurds have governed
themselves with a measure of independence since the U.S. overthrew
Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Kurds had long marketed and sold oil
without Baghdad's consent, sparking a yearslong legal dispute that
recently resulted in a ruling in Baghdad's favor from the
International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
Now, Kurdish and central government officials said they would
begin serious negotiations to enshrine oil-sales distribution into
law.
"The new deal is temporary," said Masrour Barzani, the prime
minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. "It's a crucial step
towards ending the long-standing dispute between Erbil and Baghdad,
and it creates a positive and safe atmosphere to finally approve
the national oil and gas law."
The dispute had led to the closure of a vital oil pipeline in
northern Iraq about a week ago had boosted international crude
prices close to $80 a barrel and threatened supplies in European
countries hunting for alternatives to Russian crude.
The pipeline carries 400,000 barrels daily from Iraqi Kurdistan
and 70,000 barrels more from the rest of Iraq, the world's
fifth-biggest oil producer. Combined, that amounts to about 10% of
Iraq's daily production and about half a percent of global oil
demand.
Write to Benoit Faucon at Benoit.Faucon@wsj.com and Michael Amon
at Michael.Amon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2023 08:06 ET (12:06 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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