By Michael Kern – Sep 19, 2025, 10:00 AM CDT
Iraq has given preliminary approval for the resumption of oil exports from Kurdistan, which have been halted for two and a half years.
The preliminary plan involves the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delivering at least 230,000 barrels per day to Iraqi state marketing company SOMO.
The long-standing dispute over oil exports and revenue distribution between the federal government in Baghdad and the regional Kurdish government in Erbil appears to be nearing a resolution.
Iraq has given the preliminary green light to oil exports from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to resume, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of ongoing talks.
For months, Iraq has been reportedly close to restoring Kurdistan’s oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
However, outstanding issues needed to be resolved between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Iraq and Turkey, and Iraq and the foreign oil companies operating in Kurdistan, before restarting exports to the Turkish coast.
Now the Iraqi federal government has issued preliminary approval to a plan for oil exports from Kurdistan to resume.
The preliminary plan entails the KRG delivering at least 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to Iraqi state marketing company SOMO. Kurdistan is also entitled to keep another 50,000 bpd to use for local consumption, according to Reuters’ sources.
The foreign oil firms have also given tentative approval to the export resumption plan, the sources added.
“Discussions have intensified and we’re closer to a tripartite agreement… than we’ve ever been, as all are showing flexibility,” an executive from one of the international oil firms operating in Kurdistan told Reuters.
The federal government in Baghdad and the regional Kurdish government in Erbil have been squabbling for more than two years over who should be responsible for the oil exports and the subsequent revenue distribution.
The federal authorities say Baghdad should have sole discretion in handling oil exports and oil revenues.
Oil exports from Kurdistan have now been halted for two and a half years, after they were shut in in March 2023 due to a dispute over who should authorize the Kurdish exports. Despite some breakthroughs in negotiations in recent months, the disagreements have continued.
Before the halt to exports, oil supply from Kurdistan averaged more than 400,000 bpd.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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