Genel Energy, the main driver of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) push to export oil outside Baghdad’s control, has started filling crude oil from the Taq Taq field to the Fishkabur pumping station ahead of full commissioning of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) pipeline, slated for the end of the year. The latest development announced by the Anglo-Turkish independent is certain to rankle with Baghdad, which has threatened to take action against both Irbil and Ankara, should they proceed with what now appear irrevocable plans to export crude without federal supervision.
Genel, the biggest independent oil producer in the semi-autonomous region, said in an interim management statement on 30 October that the final phase of the independent oil pipeline infrastructure from Duhok to the pumping station of Fishkabur just south of the Turkish border was now complete and tied in to the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline. “Pipeline commissioning is ongoing with line-fill of the Taq Taq to Khurmala section complete,” the company said. Mechanical completion and full commissioning of the 300,000 b/d KRI independent oil pipeline infrastructure was expected by end-2013 and full oil exports to start in the first quarter of 2014, it added. (CONTINUED - 1798 WORDS)
