Iraq Says Technical Matters Holding Back Oil Flows From Turkey

Iraq, oil buyers and the Turkish government are working together to resume crude oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region to the Turkish Ceyhan port and the delay is due to technical matter, a government spokesman Basim Al-Awadi said.

• The delay is due to “technical procedures only and they need to be completed legally”. This should “only take a short period,”Al-Awadi said.
• The Iraqi federal government and the KRG struck a temporary deal earlier this month designed to get oil flowing again but Turkey has yet to agree to that.
• “There is communication with the Turkish government,” said Al-Awadi. Turkish authorities have “requested a short period of time as they examine the oil-pumping lines and pipelines in order to ensure their safety” following two devastating nearby earthquakes in February, he said.
• As part of the discussions with oil traders, Somo wants to ensure that Kurdish crude is sold according to international prices, Al-Awadi said.
• Turkey halted pipeline flows from the northern fields on 25 March after an international arbitration tribunal ruled that it had to pay around $1.5bn in damages to Iraq for facilitating KRG sales via Ceyhan.