Turkey has stopped importing oil from the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq following a ruling by an international court in favour of the federal government in Baghdad. This decision is the latest development in a long-running dispute between the authorities in Baghdad and those in Iraqi Kurdistan over the management of the country’s oil exports.
The Iraqi government had filed a lawsuit against Turkey in 2014, after the latter announced its intention to import oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to the port of Ceyhan. Baghdad considered itself to be the exclusive manager of this oil and the revenues derived from it, but Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region, continued to export to Turkey, despite Baghdad’s opposition.
The arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris recently ruled that Baghdad was the only entity authorized to handle exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. This decision has led to the cessation of imports from Turkey from the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Total oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan via Turkey amount to about 450,000 barrels per day.
The Kurdistan Regional Government said a team would travel to Baghdad to discuss the issue. Tensions between the authorities in Baghdad and those in Iraqi Kurdistan persist, as Erbil believes that the central government is seeking to appropriate the wealth of its subsoil, while Baghdad wants to have a say in the exploitation of hydrocarbons throughout Iraq.
Iraq, the second largest OPEC country, exports an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude per day. This decision could have an impact on oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan and could alter the balance of OPEC oil exports.
