Hero Ibrahim, a leading and influential PUK member and spouse of the former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, has sent PM Haider al-Abadi a letter dated August 19th, in which she urges the central government to halt jointly export of Kirkuk oil by Erbil and Baghdad.“The revenues of Havana and Bay-hasan oil fields was not spent fairly and transparently in the Kurdistan Region, and the people of Kirkuk have been denied petrodollars,” reads the letter.
However, the reaction, according to the letter, is because Ibrahim believes they were not consulted about the agreement despite their security forces protecting these oil fields.“I urge you to positively respond to this letter wishing five days, otherwise we will be having no choice but to take other measures available,” Ibrahim explains, threatening that they may prevent the flow of the Kirkuk oil exports.
Late in August, the governments of Kurdistan Region and Iraq reached an agreement to jointly export the Kirkuk oil through the Kurdish oil pipelines to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, and share the revenues between Erbil and Baghdad.
Meanwhile, PUK itself is being accused of using Kirkuk oil for its own interests. Kurdish MP Sherko Jawdat previously said that tankers carrying Kirkuk oil continue going to Iran through Sulaymaniyah province, which is PUK’s area of military and political influence.
