Iraq plans 500,000 b/d of ‘northern’ exports next year, a combination of Kirkuk and KRG volumes. But, while southern output capacity is up strongly, export volumes continue to be hampered by decrepit infrastructure.
Iraq has penciled in 3.2mn b/d of oil exports, to include Kurdish and Kirkuk oil, in its 2015 draft budget, Iraqi Oil Minister ‘Adil ‘Abd al-Mahdi says. The inclusion of oil produced from areas under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) comes after a provisional agreement between the federal government in Baghdad and Erbil to allow some Kurdish exports to be had led by state oil marketer SOMO, though the controversial status of Kirkuk, now under Kurdish control, is not one that Mr ‘Abd al-Mahdi was willing to discuss. (CONTINUED - 2165 WORDS)
