MESOP : MCGURKS DECLARATIONS / US Official: No US ban on transfer or sale of oil from any part of Iraq

31.07.2014 – Hawar Abdulrazaq – BasNews, Erbil – A senior United States official has said that his government has no ban on exporting and selling oil from any part of Iraq.The Iraqi government filed a complaint to a Houston, Texas court this week claiming the oil was smuggled out of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region without its permission. After initially issuing an order to seize the 1m-barrel United Kalavrvta tanker, a US judge then said she lacked jurisdiction to do so given its distance from the shore.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs for Iraq and Iran, Brett McGurk, in a series of tweets clarified Washington’s stance regarding the Kurdish oil tanker that was seized Tuesday by US marshals near the Texas bay.  “There is no U.S. ban on the transfer or sale of oil originating from any part of Iraq.  Suggestions to the contrary are false,” McGurk posted to his Twitter feed.He also stressed that the Obama Administration’s policy on the underlying issue has been clear and consistent and that “Iraq’s energy resources belong to all of the Iraqi people”.After the seizure of the tanker, the Kurdistan Regional Government sent a letter to a US judge to review that case, maintaining that the KRG legally produced, shipped and exported the oil.Furthermore, McGurk urges all sides to solve their differences based on the Iraqi constitution.“The situation demonstrates why it is incumbent on Baghdad and Erbil to find a negotiated resolution. As in many cases involving legal disputes, however, the U.S. recommends that parties make their own decision with advice of counsel. These questions should be resolved in a manner consistent with the Iraqi constitution,” added McGurk. The Kurdistan Region currently produces just over 200,000 barrels a day and had been looking to increase exports to 400,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.