At the center of the delay in passing of Iraq’s 2021 budget (see main story) was the share of spending allocated to the autonomous Kurdistan region as well as the 250,000 b/d of crude exports that the KRG is supposed to hand over to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (Somo).
As passed, the budget obliges Erbil, rather than hand over crude directly, to provide Baghdad with an equivalent monetary value at a price set by Somo. In March, the Kirkuk grade sold by Baghdad via the Turkish port of Ceyhan was priced at $63.421/B. However KRG-marketed barrels typically trade at a substantial discount. (CONTINUED - 431 WORDS)
