ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— A top Iranian diplomat in Kurdistan region says Tehran has offered the Kurdish government access to the Persian Gulf for export of its crude oil after a series of disruptions halted the pipeline to the Turkish Ceyhan port on the Mediterranean coast.
Iranian Consul General in Sulaimani, Saadullah Masoudi, told Rudaw in an interview that the offer was made last October as the Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani was on a visit to the Iranian capital.
“In several meetings we have proposed to the Kurdistan region officials to export their oil by pipelines through Iranian soil to the Gulf,” Masoudi said.
“Iran’s larger companies have the ability to implement such a project and it only depends on the determination of the two sides,” he added.
At least three major incidents have temporarily disrupted export of Kurdish oil through newly constructed pipelines to the Turkish port after Erbil started to sell its 650 barrels per day oil (bpd) independent of Baghdad in July 2015.
The last incident which has completely halted the flow of oil to Ceyhan port, took place in mid February inside Turkish territory with Ankara blaming Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the sabotage. The PKK, however, has categorically denied any involvement but the stoppage has cost Erbil millions desperately needed dollars.
“We have also informed Sulaimani governor that there will be public announcement of related tender for the construction of the pipeline as we currently wait for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) answer,” the Iranian diplomat said.
Meanwhile the Kurdish representative in Tehran told Rudaw Iran has agreed to grant cash loans to the KRG in return for stakes in the Kurdish oil.
Nazim Dabagh said the Islamic Republic had shown willingness to assist the KRG through the ongoing financial crunch that has rocked the Kurdish economy over the past two years.
“The KRG has asked for financial help from Iran. We have conveyed that to our Iranian partners through our own channels to solve the economic hardships. The KRG has announced it is in crisis and needs assistance,” Dabagh told Rudaw but did not give details about the Kurdish response to the offer.
The KRG has largely distanced itself from its powerful Shiite neighbor to the east which gained unprecedented influence in postwar Iraq.
Critics have said that the KRG must find a second route to export its crude oil and natural gas.
Apart from a 50-year-long oil deal with Ankara, Erbil will from 2017 be a major exporter of natural gas to Turkey.
The Kurdistan region has an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil reserves, which it administrates largely independent from Baghdad.
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