Critical summit for oil flow from Iraq to Turkey

Iraqi government oil officials met with representatives from the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) on Wednesday for the first time to discuss the resumption of oil flow through the pipeline from Iraq to Turkey.

According to a Reuters report, the meeting held in Dubai on Wednesday included APIKUR, representatives from the Iraqi ministry, Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO, and Iraq's North Oil Company, which is based in Dubai.

Turkey had halted oil flow via the route originating from northern Iraq following an arbitration ruling in March. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) had ordered Turkey to pay 1.5 billion dollars in compensation to the Iraqi government due to unauthorized oil exports made directly to Turkey by the Kurdistan Regional Government between 2014 and 2018.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated last month that the pipeline was ready for operation, but two senior Iraqi oil officials had indicated that Iraq had not received official notification from Turkey regarding whether the pipeline was ready.

During the meeting, officials from both sides emphasized the urgency of resuming oil production and exports under mutually acceptable commercial terms.

However, according to the Reuters report, no agreement was reached at the meeting.

APIKUR spokesperson Myles Caggins told Reuters, "This meeting was a first step. We look forward to holding meetings with all stakeholders in the future."

News Source: 12punto