MESOP NEWS “YESTERDAYS PUK FAKE”: Business / Iraq oil ministry unaware of any deal between PUK & Abadi on Kirkuk

By Rudaw 3 hours ago – 9 March 2017 – ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi Oil Ministry says it is not aware of any agreement between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to end  disputes over oil production and exports from Kirkuk fields, a day after the PUK stated it had reached such a deal during the premier’s visit to Sulaimani.The PUK deputy chief Kosrat Rasul said on Wednesday that his party had reached an agreement with the Iraqi PM Abadi to end a dispute over the size of oil extraction and export days after an armed force from his party seized the complex of the North Oil Company (NOC) in Kirkuk.

“The agreement ended the problem and there is no deadline anymore” to shut the pipeline, Kosrat Rasul Ali, PUK deputy secretary general was quoted as saying by Reuters, giving no further details.However, Asim Jihad, spokesperson of the Iraqi oil ministry told Rudaw that they were not aware of any deal brokered between the PUK and Baghdad.Jihad added that “the oil ministry has tried to set up a refinery in Kirkuk, but due to the city’s security and political situation, no company was ready to go to Kirkuk.”

He also said they have added a processing unit to Kirkuk’s oil refinery which increases its capacity by 10,000 barrels a day, perhaps as a response to a key demand from the PUK, other Kurdish parties in the city, and the local government in Kirkuk.NOC is a state company under Iraq’s Ministry of Oil. It operates in oil and gas production in Kirkuk, Nineveh, Erbil, Baghdad, and Diyala provinces as well as in parts of Hilla and Kut.According to an agreement between Erbil and Baghdad signed in August 2016 between KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Premier Abadi, the KRG sells half of the oil being exported from the North Oil Company to Turkey’s Ceyhan Port and Baghdad sells a similar proportion.

The NOC produces 160,000 barrels of oil per day, transferring 20,000 to Dora refinery to provide fuel to Qudis Power Station and 30,000 barrels for domestic needs. The remaining 110,000 is being sold by KRG and Baghdad on an equal basis. However, to show commitment to an OPEC accord to reduce oil exports, Baghdad sends 40,000 bpd on a daily basis to Kalak refinery to supply fuel to the Iraqi security forces currently fighting ISIS in west Mosul. currently, Kirkuk oil is being exported to the world market through the Ceyhan port in Turkey. Two oil fields in Kirkuk are under the control of the KRG and three are run by the NOC. www.mesop.de