The US confirms its participation in facilitating the opening of the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline: It will benefit us.
The US confirms its participation in facilitating the opening of the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline: It will benefit us.
2025-09-27 01:33
Shafaq News – Washington
The US State Department affirmed on Saturday its continued engagement with the Iraqi government and its commitment to all its partners in the country, noting its participation in facilitating the agreement to reopen the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which resulted in the re-export of crude oil through the Kurdistan Region.
“The United States is committed to its partners across Iraq, who are working to build a truly sovereign, stable, and prosperous state,” a State Department spokesperson told Shafaq News Agency. “We are in constant communication with Baghdad and support Iraqi actors who share our priorities and concerns.”
“Just yesterday, through American diplomatic efforts, the United States facilitated an agreement to reopen the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which will bring real benefits to both Americans and Iraqis,” the spokesman added.
The spokesperson continued, “Our designations of Iran-backed terrorist organizations simply state the obvious: These terrorist groups are used to attack Americans in Iraq to serve Iran’s interests, and they have done so for decades. Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the United States will act decisively to ensure that our interests are protected.”
After more than two and a half years of hiatus, crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region’s fields via the Fishkhabur field to the Turkish port of Ceyhan resumed this Saturday morning, at a rate of 190,000 barrels per day.
This step followed several meetings between delegations from the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the federal Ministry of Oil. A tripartite agreement was ultimately reached between the two ministries and the international investing companies, stipulating that exports will be conducted through the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), which is responsible for delivering Kurdistan’s oil to the port of Ceyhan.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil said in a statement that crude oil exports from the region have resumed via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, in implementation of the directives of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, with direct supervision from Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul-Ghani al-Sawad, and in close cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Region.
She added, “Operations began at 6:00 a.m. at a rapid pace and with complete smoothness, without any significant technical problems, reflecting the success of the joint efforts between the federal government and the regional government in achieving this important accomplishment.”
Earlier this morning, Kurdistan Regional Prime Minister Masrour Barzani praised the United States’ role in resuming the region’s oil exports after a halt of more than two years.
During an academic ceremony in Erbil, Masrour Barzani said, “The agreement to resume oil exports is a great gain for all Iraqis.” He added, “We thank the United States for its role in resuming the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister continued: “We hope that the resumption of oil exports will strengthen the economic infrastructure.”
An oil source in the North Oil Company revealed on Friday that crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region to Türkiye will resume this morning, Saturday, after exports were halted in March 2023.
The source told Shafaq News Agency, “Pumping operations through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline will resume as of Saturday morning, following technical and administrative understandings between the Federal Ministry of Oil, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the Turkish side.”
The Kurdistan Region was pumping about 500,000 barrels per day before exports halted in March 2023, following a court ruling requiring Türkiye to pay $1.5 billion to Baghdad, prompting Ankara to halt use of the crude pipeline.
Last July, the region agreed to hand over its oil to the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for international sale, in a move to defuse the protracted dispute over oil revenues.
On Thursday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that the country had incurred losses ranging between $22 and $25 billion as a result of the halt in oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, suggesting that flows would likely resume this week.
This figure represents an increase from previous estimates of losses of $19 billion as of last February.
The resumption of pumping through the pipeline linking Kurdistan and Turkey is expected to result in an initial flow of approximately 230,000 barrels per day to global markets, amid concerns of an oil glut due to increased production by the OPEC+ alliance.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which extends from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, is the main artery for transporting crude oil from fields in the Kurdistan Region and the northern provinces to global markets.
shafaq.com
