Economist: The region is smuggling billions of dollars worth of oil, and its pledges are nothing but maneuvers.
Economist: The region is smuggling billions of dollars worth of oil, and its pledges are nothing but maneuvers.
5-16-2025
Information/Special..
Economic expert Hassan al-Sheikh confirmed on Friday that the Kurdistan Region continues to smuggle huge quantities of oil through the black market, asserting that the value of the region’s annual exports exceeds three billion dollars without any official government oversight.
“The financial dues the regional government owes to Baghdad are nothing compared to the amount of revenue it generates from selling oil outside the legal framework,” Sheikh told Al-Maalouma News Agency. “Any sums paid to the center are given only to throw dust in the eyes and cover up the continued smuggling.”
He added that “Al-Sudani’s recent visit to the region, and the subsequent formal approvals of the federal government’s conditions, came within the context of calming the political situation as the election date approaches,” stressing that “these pledges are nothing more than maneuvers, which the regional government has previously backed down from.”
He warned that “the volume of smuggled oil far exceeds the officially announced figure of approximately 450,000 barrels per day, while estimates indicate that the actual quantity could reach one million barrels per day.”
He explained that “despite the region’s continued unofficial exports, only 20% of its declared oil revenues are handed over to the federal government, while the Kurdistan Regional Government retains 80%,” calling for “all of the region’s oil revenues to be placed under the control of the central government, so they can be distributed fairly to the Iraqi people without exception.”
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