KRG-Ankara agreement to allow delivering Kurdistan oil to global markets

June 12, 2014 – ARA News – Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan – A “senior American delegation” visited Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital city of Erbil (Hewler) earlier this week to discuss the recent developments in the Kurdistan Region, local sources reported.The delegation, headed by the American Deputy Foreign Minister for Iraq Breit Mccork,  held a meeting with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, and discussed the issue of selling and exporting the Region’s oil through Turkey as well as Erbil-Baghdad relations.

In this context, one of the officials in the Turkish Energy Ministry stated: “Another carrier of crude oil, belonging to Iraqi Kurdistan, took off on Saturday from the Turkish Port of Jihan to global markets.”

The Turkish official asserted: “Rumors about not selling the Region’s oil are wrong; the first sold amount was carried on United Leadership. Exporting oil is taking place according to the plan.”“Turkey is clear about shipping the (Kurdistan) Region’s oil to global markets. Other carriers will continue this work from Jihan Port,” the Turkish official told the press.

In this regard, Omid Ibrahim, a Kurdish economist, told ARA News “selling oil by the KRG is a right step as Baghdad Government took the decision to stop the Region’s allowances and employees’ salaries allocated in the budget of the Iraqi Federal Government”.Ibrahim invited all the Kurdistan Region’s political actors to “unify their decision about selling oil and imply it within their strategic plans”. KRG started exporting oil through Turkey last week, following KRG Prime Minister’s agreement with Ankara Government to deliver the Kurdistan’s oil to the global markets through Jihan Port on the Mediterranean.