Washington Threatens Baghdad With Sanctions If It Does Not Resume Kurdistan Oil Exports Quickly
02/21/2025 Mawazine News – Economy The United States threatened the federal government in Iraq with sanctions on Friday if the Kurdistan Region's oil exports are not resumed quickly.
Reuters quoted sources as saying: "The administration of President Donald Trump asked Iraq to resume Kurdish oil exports quickly or face sanctions alongside Iran."
The sources added that "Washington believes that Kurdish oil sales could help reduce crude prices and compensate for the decline in Iranian supplies."
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani revealed last Tuesday that Iraq had sent a delegation from the ministry to the Kurdistan Region to agree on a mechanism for delivering and exporting the region's oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The oil minister said that contact had been made with the region's Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Mohammed Salih, to negotiate with the delegation on the mechanism for receiving and exporting oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
This came one day after Iraq accelerated the expected date for resuming oil exports from Kurdistan, as the federal oil minister said last Monday that oil exports from the Kurdistan Region could resume within just a week.
Iraq exports between 400,000 and 500,000 barrels per day from fields in the north of the country, in the Kurdistan Region, via the now-defunct Iraq-Turkey pipeline.
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said earlier this month that at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude were planned to be transported once operations resumed.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, oil production is between about 280,000 and 300,000 barrels per day, and the regional government estimates its domestic consumption needs — including power generation — at around 110,000 to 120,000 barrels per day. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=259748