Turkey stops importing oil from Iraqi Kurdistan

An employee checks pipelines at the Bai Hassan oil field, west of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, October 19, 2017 (Illustration image). AFP - AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

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1 min

This Saturday, March 25, oil exports from northern Iraqi fields to Turkey were interrupted. Result of a decision of the International Chamber of Commerce rendered in favour of Iraq. A decision that could undermine the already fragile relations between the government of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and the federal government.

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With our correspondent in Baghdad, Marie-Charlotte Roupie

It is a conflict between Iraqi Kurdistan and the federal state at the heart of which Turkey has found itself. After a complaint filed in 2014 by Iraq against Ankara, the International Chamber of Commerce issued its decision: Turkey violates an agreement between the two countries by directly importing black gold from the oil fields of Kurdistan, without authorization from the federal government.

This Saturday, exports were therefore suspended. Ankara has announced that it will comply with this decision. It will pay compensation of one and a half billion dollars to Iraq. An Iraqi delegation will soon visit Turkey to try to resume the exchanges. Still, this decision is not without consequences for Iraqi Kurdistan.

The economy of the autonomous region depends mainly on its oil revenues. As a result, the prolonged halt in its exports is likely to have a significant impact on its financial resources. In the long term, it is a question of sovereignty over oil reserves that arises. This decision puts Kurdistan in a bad position to negotiate with the federal state. A Kurdish delegation visited Baghdad on Sunday.

► Also listen: Kurdistan refuses to deliver its oil to the Iraqi government despite a court decision

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Iraq
  • Petroleum
  • Raw materials