By John Lee.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has said it is prioritising the resumption of oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP), “in line with national interests“.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry said it has invited the Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources and international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the region to a meeting in Baghdad to discuss and reach an agreement.
On Monday, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR)— a trade body representing a group of IOCs operating in Iraqi Kurdistan — hit back at media reports that it said, “mistakenly point to a lack of flexibility from IOCs as the reason for the continuing impasse on resumption of oil exports via the ITP. “
Following the Ministry’s announcement, APIKUR said: “We acknowledge the swift, public response from Iraq’s Ministry of Oil and look forward to scheduling joint discussions to restore oil exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline.“
(Source: Ministry of Oil)