ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The United Leadership oil tanker, a symbol of a long-running disagreement between Baghdad and the KRG over oil sales rights, loaded one million barrels of Kurdish crude on May 22 and has according to many international reports changed course twice abruptly without discharging the oil onboard.
It has been reported that the oil tanker finally sailed to a refinery at the Moroccan port of Mohammedia, but it has been kept in international waters, waiting over the last two days without being allowed in to discharge.
Sources close to the diplomatic and government circles in Erbil and Baghdad expect that the latest holdup has resulted from the behind the scene pressure, exerted by some anti-KRG officials within the US State Department, on the international oil buyers and traders, and also some believe on the Moroccan port authorities.
If this behind the scene US move proves to be the case, it means that the State Department has now openly moved away from its self-claimed friendly- to -all – neutral - position, and have taken Baghdad’s side against KRG’s interests. This is a big change and no doubt would disappoint and anger Erbil, and could lead to further escalation of the conflict. Furthermore, this policy shift could create even more difficulties with the formation of a new government in Baghdad.
Some of the diplomatic sources who have been contacted by Rudaw say that it is ironic that the State Department has not uttered a word against Baghdad for illegally cutting KRG’s entire budget, nor have they made any clear demands on Baghdad to pass the revenue sharing law as required by the constitution, yet the same officials have been too quick to criticize KRG’s oil export policy, and now they are also regrettably using their weight to assist Baghdad in this constitutional oil battle.
