Masrour Barzani: We have no remaining problems regarding the resumption of Kurdistan Region oil exports.
Masrour Barzani: We have no remaining problems regarding the resumption of Kurdistan Region oil exports.
2025-09-09 00:56
Shafaq News – Erbil
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday that the regional government has no issues hindering the resumption of the region’s oil exports, stressing that what remains is to resolve the dispute between oil companies operating in Kurdistan and the federal government on the matter.
“We have repeated this time and time again, and each time we have emphasized our hope that these problems will be resolved as quickly as possible, but we always see a new problem emerging from the federal government,” Masrour Barzani told reporters on the sidelines of the opening of the 6th Erbil International Investment Fair.
He also said, “We have always tried, with great effort, to address these challenges ourselves, because what matters most to us is the well-being, security, and stability of the people of Kurdistan, and the continued economic progress of the region. Therefore, everything that impacts the Kurdistan Region directly concerns us, and will always concern us.”
The KRG Prime Minister continued, “Our delegations are currently conducting ongoing negotiations with the federal government delegation. Regarding non-oil revenues, we have almost reached the final stage of agreement.”
He added, “Regarding the resumption of oil exports, the Kurdistan Region no longer has any problems with either the producing companies or the federal government,” indicating that “what remains is a point of contention between the companies and the federal government, as the companies are now demanding guarantees that ensure they continue to receive their financial dues fairly.”
On Saturday, Ali Nizar, the director of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), confirmed that the resumption of Kurdistan’s oil exports depends on the producing companies.
Nizar told Shafaq News Agency, “The agreement between the federal Ministry of Oil, the Oil Marketing Company, and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Region established strict mechanisms for implementing the budget law.”
He added, “We are optimistic about the agreement and the mechanisms, and we hope to proceed with pumping oil from the Kurdistan Region via the Turkish-Ceyhan pipeline, as this is in Iraq’s best interest and will boost its financial revenues.”
He stressed that “the timing of resuming oil exports depends on the oil-producing companies.”
The roots of the recent salary crisis between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) lie in ongoing disagreements over oil export mechanisms and the unification of public revenues. This is a long-standing crisis that resurfaces from time to time, but it has significantly worsened since May 2025, when the federal government refused to send salaries to KRG employees.
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