In a major move today, Iraq Oil Ministry granted the Kurdish government a long awaited approval to export oil.
Officials from Kurdistan announced late last week that they would begin exporting oil on June 1 from it’s Tawke field via an Iraq-Turkey pipeline. This is an opportunity that has been denied to the Kurds by Iraq for a long time.
Kurdish Natural Resources Minister, Ashti Hawrami stated,
The revenue from this oil will go to the Iraqi People. This will increase Iraq’s export capacity.
The initial export rate is scheduled for 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), and another 40,000 bpd is planned to begin leaving by truck from another field (Taq Taq).
This is a significant occurrence in the long-running oil feud between Iraq’s minority Kurds and the Shi’ite Arab-led government in Baghdad. It is also part of a larger dispute over resources, land and power, which has hindered national energy legislation. Could this signal an upcoming landmark in the battle to pass the HCL?
Time will tell.
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