“The closure of the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline on 25 March 2023 has resulted in minimal sales and no payments from the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] since that date,” Paul Weir, Chief Executive of Genel Energy said in its unaudited report for results until June 30.
According to the report, the closure of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline significantly impacted oil production, as the company averaged 13,440 bpd (barrels per day), a clear reduction compared with the first half of the previous year when it averaged 30,420 bpd.
“Two payments totaling $61 million were received from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in the period, with $110 million now overdue” the report added.
Turkey stopped the flow of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline after a Paris arbitration court ruling on March 23 ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement and allowed the Kurdistan Region to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Turkey to pay a penalty of $1.4 billion in damages to Baghdad for allowing the KRG to independently export its oil between 2014 and 2018.
Around 400,000 bpd of oil were being exported by Erbil through Ankara, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk oil daily through the same pipeline.
The oil company said that the approval of Iraq’s federal budget in June put a framework in place for the restart of payments and exports, and incorporating production from Kurdistan Region was “an important step”, adding that they await positive outcomes from discussions between Iraq and Turkey regarding the commercial and political arrangements to enable the resumption.
Erbil and Baghdad reached an agreement in early April to resume the exports but Turkey but these are yet to take place.
In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a press conference that the suspension of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports was a result of problems between the federal government and the KRG and that Ankara had no issues with receiving the oil. Days later, Iraq’s oil ministry responded to the Turkish president’s claims saying that Erbil and Baghdad are on the same page regarding the resumption of exports.
