KRG made $1.7 billion from oil sales in first half of 2021: report

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exported a total of nearly 80 million barrels of crude oil in the first half of 2021, collecting a net $1.7 billion, according to audited data published by the KRG on Wednesday. 

The report, which covers January 1 to June 30, shows that the KRG exported 77.35 barrels of crude oil through its pipelines - of these, 76,869 million barrels were lifted by buyers from Ceyhan Export Terminal in Turkey. The average price of each barrel was $53.446. 

“The KRG has generated revenues of USD 4.1 billion from crude oil export sales during the first half of 2021. After making payments to oil producers, pipeline operators, and repayments to the buyers, the KRG retained net revenues from crude oil sales of US$ 1.737 billion,” read the report. 
 
The data was audited by Deloitte. 

“The KRG has engaged in discussions with international buyers and oil producers in continuing its efforts to maximize sales prices and reduce production costs to maximize value for the people of Kurdistan,” said the government in a statement which accompanied the report, adding that it acknowledges the positive feedback received from domestic and international stakeholders.

There are 52 oil blocks in the Kurdistan Region, 16 of them are in production and 15 are in exploration phases. Over 30 international and local companies are working in the sector. Many of the contracts were signed with prepayment schemes and the Kurdistan Region owes a large amount of money. 

In late June, the Council of Ministers Secretary General Amanj Raheem told parliament that the KRG owes around $4.3 billion to oil companies. The government has also said it inherited a $28 billion debt from the previous administration. 

Kurdistan Region's Minister of Natural Resources Kamal Atroshi in late June attended a parliamentary session to answer questions about the government's finances. He said at the time that 40 percent of the money from oil sales is spent to cover oil sector costs - 20 percent for production costs, 14 percent in payments to international oil companies, and around six percent for transportation.

The KRG's biggest expense by far is its payroll and it has struggled to pay its employees in full and on time for several years because of several factors including budget disputes with Baghdad and low oil prices during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The amount of money that the Kurdistan Region’s finance ministry collects from oil revenues is around a third of what it should be receiving, Rewaz Fayaq, speaker of Kurdistan Parliament, told reporters late last month. 

“When you think of oil revenue, the amount that enters the finance ministry is not natural, it is $350 million, but when you calculate it is around $900 million,” she said, adding that “Not everything enters the finance ministry.”