Iraq to resume oil pumping to Turkey after OPEC+ decision to cut production

The Iraqi authorities and representatives of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan have tentatively agreed to resume pumping oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey. This was announced on April 3 on his Twitter by the head of the foreign relations department of the regional Kurdish government, Lauk Ghafuri. The resumption of the work of the pipe, according to him, is possible “this week.”

Gafuri did not explain the details of the agreement between Erbil and Baghdad. April 1 Reuters reported that the Kurdish autonomy and the Iraqi government are close to an agreement. According to the interlocutors of the agency, the deal was that the export of Iraqi oil to the north was carried out jointly by the Iraqi state company SOMO and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Iraqi Kurdistan. Proceeds, according to Reuters sources, will be credited to an account controlled by Baghdad.

Information about the restart of the pipeline was preceded by the decision of the member countries of OPEC + on the afternoon of April 3 to reduce oil production by 1.66 million barrels per day in addition to the agreements in autumn 2022 to reduce production by 2 million barrels per day. Iraq has pledged to reduce production by 211,000 barrels per day.