Iraq to Resume Crude Exports to Turkey

Iraq has agreed a deal with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to resume crude oil exports through its pipeline to Turkey, halted since last July, local media quoted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as saying on Tuesday. "It was agreed with the Kurdish side to start exporting oil from Kirkuk," he said during his weekly press conference in Baghdad, Platts reported. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization has not exported any crude oil from Ceyhan since June 2017. Even before the shipments stopped, SOMO was only exporting around 32,000 bpd from the port. Analysts were, however, skeptical about the deal being implemented in the near future. KRG officials have been silent on the deal to transport crude produced by federal oil companies through its pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Two key fields—Bai Hassan and Avana—are offline, and it is not clear how quickly production can be resumed. Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi visited Ankara earlier this month for talks on resuming exports.