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US energy secretary Dan Brouillette (left) and Kurdistan Region prime minister Masrour Barzani meet at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2020. Photo via Masrour Barzani on Twitter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani met the newly-appointed US energy secretary in Munich, Germany on Friday to discuss US assistance in the expansion of Kurdish oil exports.
The two met for the first time on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, before which US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette heaped broad praise on “the Kurds”.
“Today we are going to celebrate a miracle, your [PM Barzani’s] miracle. For those of you [reporters] who do not know what I am speaking of, as you know, the Kurds are the landlocked people in the middle of a continent,” Secretary Brouillette told reporters before the meeting. “We are going to help you expand [oil exports] even further.”
“We hope we can increase our cooperation in the energy with the US,” the Kurdistan Region premier told reporters.
The Region’s oil export currently stands at around 400,000-500,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters, most of which is exported through Turkey.
Brouillette tweeted after the meeting that both governments have “ample opportunities to increase energy security in the region and have major US investment in the Kurdistan energy sector,” adding that Barzani “shares our optimism for US-KRG energy opportunities.” Prime Minister Barzani said in a post-meeting tweet that they discussed “how US companies can help the development of the Kurdistan Region's energy sector,” where key players include American oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
While speaking to reporters, Brouillette made no mention of Iraq, which has had issues with the KRG over the latter's move to export oil independently.
The KRG used to export oil through Baghdad-owned national state company SOMO, but after the establishment of a pipeline with Ankara in 2013 it marketed its first independent oil shipment.
Erbil- Baghdad dispute culminated in Baghdad cutting the KRG's budget share in 2014, continuing until Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi was appointed in October 2018.
Kurdistan Region’s oil exports exceeded 600,000 bpd in 2017, with plans for export levels to near double to one million bpd. However, export levels tumbled to below 300,000 bpd in late 2017, when the Iraqi Army and Iran-backed Popular Mobilization forces, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, expelled Kurdish forces from Kirkuk and other oil-rich areas disputed by the two governments.
Abdul-Mahdi enjoyed good relations with Kurdish officials, but recent anti-establishment protests in Iraq led to his resignation. Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was designated as his replacement on February 1.
Amid governmental instability, it remains unclear whether Baghdad and Erbil will renew their deal which dictates that the KRG must send 250,000 bpd to SOMO in return for its federal budget share from Baghdad. Unconfirmed reports say the two governments have reached oil-for-budget agreement.
Brouilette was US deputy energy secretary until December 2019, when he succeeded Rick Perry as department head. He has called for the US to become “energy independent” and less at the mercy of oil-rich Middle East state turmoil.
The energy secretary embarked of a tour of Gulf states a few weeks into his tenure to discuss energy security in the aftermath of the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
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