No Kurdish oil exports to Turkey before final deal: Baghdad

Iraqi cabinet spokesman Ali al-Mosawi has said the government would not allow the country's northern Kurdish region to begin exporting oil to Turkey until a final agreement to this effect had been ratified by the central government.

"Such an agreement has yet to be reached," al-Mosawi told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

Qassem Mohamed, rapporteur for the Iraqi parliament's oil and energy committee, for his part, told AA that an agreement to this effect would be reached "very soon."

A delegation from the Kurdish regional government is expected to head to Baghdad within days to discuss the issue with officials of the central government, he added.
Mohamed admitted that the two sides still disagreed over a number of details regarding export quantities, revenue and operations, but asserted that the delegations' visit would iron out all differences.
On Wednesday, a statement issued by the Kurdish regional government's Natural Resources Ministry said the ministry planned to export one million barrels of crude oil to Turkey this month

Exports would then be gradually increased to between 10 million and 12 million barrels before the end of 2014.

The announcement came amid mounting tensions between the Kurdish administration and Baghdad over the former's right to export oil independently.

The Kurdish administration insists it has a constitutional right to sign export deals without the prior approval of the central government, which, for its part, refuses to acknowledge agreements signed between Arbil and foreign oil companies.

Relations between Baghdad and the Kurdish administration have been strained since early 2013, when Iraq's parliament passed a budget for the Kurdish region over the objections of Kurdish officials.

Iraq, which holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves, had previously announced plans to increase its daily production to 8 million barrels per day by the end of 2017.

Current daily oil output from the Kurdish region alone stands between 350,000 and 400,000 barrels per day, according to the latest reports.

By Hozan Robarhttp://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/273048--no-kurdish-oil-exports-to-turkey-before-final-deal-baghdad
10/1/14
--
-
Related:

• Iraqi Kurdish administration announces start of crude flow to Turkey 

• US VP Biden calls Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani to discuss oil conflict...

----

• Oil supplies from Iraqi Kurdistan via Turkey to begin towards end of January....

• Iraq ups oil flow to Turkey to block Kurdish oil

• Αντιτάσσεται το Ιράκ στην ενεργειακή συμφωνία Τουρκίας-ιρακινού Κουρδιστάν

• Οι Κούρδοι του Ιράκ κάνουν μπίζνες δισεκατομμυρίων με τον Ερντογάν

• Turkey to seek Baghdad's consent for Iraqi Kurdish oil: Energy Minister Yıldız....

• Ankara watchful on oil accords with Iraq. -USA reiterated that Washington “doesn’t support oil exports from any part of Iraq without the approval of the Iraqi federal government.”

• Iraq Warns Turkey Over Kurdistan Oil Ties.

• Sources: Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan sign landmark energy contracts ....