The first crude has started to flow through Iraqi Kurdistan’s new pipeline across Turkey and the first independent exports are expected to begin at the end of this month, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Wednesday.
The first parcel of two million barrels of oil will be sold via a tender, KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources said on the government’s web site. It invited bidders for the January tender.
The monthly export parcels will then increase to four million barrels and six million barrels in February and March respectively, it said. The monthly exports are estimated to reach 10-12 million barrels in December. Iraqi Kurds and the central government in Baghdad have been at loggerheads over the share of oil revenues.
Baghdad, which claims the sole authority to manage Iraqi oil, was infuriated after Arbil signed a package of contracts with Turkey for oil and gas exports as well as for the construction of new pipelines, VOA informs.
