Baghdad & Erbil Locked In Standoff As Oil Exports To Ceyhan Come To Complete Halt

31 Mar 2023 Issue: 66 / 13 By: Yesar Al-Maleki

Erbil and Baghdad are at loggerheads amid the fallout from Iraq’s ‘victory’ in its nine-year arbitration against Turkey over Iraqi Kurdistan’s independent oil exports. With talks set to extend into a second week neither side appears willing to compromise.

Turkey has suspended flows of around 500,000 b/d of crude oil from northern Iraq to its export terminal at Ceyhan following a long-awaited ruling by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on the case filed by Iraq in 2014 against Turkey for facilitating Iraqi Kurdistan’s independent oil exports. Turkey’s swift reaction has taken almost everybody by surprise, and has derailed Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani’s attempts to reach a political settlement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Two rounds of talks between Baghdad and Erbil since flows were halted on 25 March have failed to bring about an agreement. MEES understands talks will not resume until after the weekend, meaning that the pipeline closure will stretch into a second week at least. (CONTINUED - 2245 WORDS)