FALCON POWERS – Hayan Abdulghani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Iraqi Oil Minister, revealed on Saturday the imminent date for the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region. He confirmed that his ministry has requested the Kurdistan Regional Government to hand over the region’s produced oil to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), the only entity authorized to market Iraqi oil for export. A statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, obtained by “Al-Khaleej,” quoted Abdulghani as saying that “the Iraqi Ministry of Oil has sent a letter to the Kurdistan Regional Government to hand over the oil produced from the fields to SOMO, the sole entity authorized to market Iraqi oil, for export through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline to the port of Ceyhan.”
Regarding reaching an agreement with the oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region, Abdulghani pointed out that “there is no direct relationship between the oil companies operating in the region and the federal government.” He explained that the region has been informed of the need to provide copies of these contracts to be studied and aligned with the constitution. He emphasized that the mechanism for receiving and exporting oil has been agreed upon with the regional government.
