Oil Price: Washington pressured Baghdad on Kurdistan oil to limit Iran’s exports
Shafaq News / The American energy-based oil press website published on Friday a report on the resumption of oil pumping from the Kurdistan Region, stressing that Washington pressured Baghdad for this, to reduce Iranian oil exports.
According to the report translated by Shafaq News, “despite the Iraqi federal government’s assurances that the resumption of oil exports from Kurdistan is imminent, foreign oil companies operating in the region said they will not resume oil exports today.”
The report noted that “oil exports from Kurdistan have now been suspended for nearly two years, after being stopped since March 2023 due to the dispute over who should allow Kurdish exports.”
He explained that “the companies that are members of APIKUR for the export of oil from the region are ready to resume exports immediately once formal agreements are reached to provide guarantee of payment for previous and future exports in accordance with the current legal and contractual terms.”
The report said that “foreign oil producers in Kurdistan want agreements and firm guarantees before resuming exports, while Baghdad is under pressure from the United States to allow the supply of Kurdish supplies to the market, as the Trump administration is looking to impose a significant reduction in Iranian oil exports as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign.
Eight international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region announced on Friday that they would not resume oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan despite Baghdad’s announcement of the imminent export resumption.
The Kurdistan Petroleum Industry Association (Abecor), which represents 60% of the region’s production, said that “no official contacts have been made to clarify trade agreements and guarantees of payment for past and future exports.”
Earlier on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Eng. Hayyan Abdul Ghani, announced the start resumption of Kurdistan Region oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan in the coming hours, in a statement he made on the sidelines of his visit to the port of Khor Al-Zubair to see the operations of connecting the gas pipe, and quoted by the Ministry of Oil in a statement.
https://www.shafaq.com/ar/سیاسة/ويل-برايس-واشنطن-ضغطت-على-بغداد-بش-ن-نفط-كوردستان-لتحجيم-صادرات-يران