Payment issues stall Kurdistan oil exports
Shafaq News/ Payment mechanisms for production and transportation costs hinder the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region’s fields, sources said on Wednesday.
The sources told Shafaq News that the Region’s delegation, which visited Baghdad earlier this week, failed to reach solutions that would expedite the export process due to the companies’ insistence on receiving production and transportation fees in advance before exports resume. The federal government in Baghdad, however, rejected handing over any funds to the region before settling all financial matters, including debts owed to Baghdad by the Turkish side, and any prior payments before the resumption of exports.
The production and transportation costs, set at $16, are subject to adjustment after two months of resumed exports, with the use of an intermediary company specializing in calculating these costs. As such, no payments or fees will be delivered before exports resume, the sources explained, noting that another meeting may take place on Thursday or next week in Baghdad, with a delegation from the Kurdistan Region and representatives from oil companies.
On Sunday, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government held talks in Baghdad with the federal Ministry of Oil to resolve issues related to resuming exports from the region’s fields, as well as other matters concerning the oil companies.
The discussions follow an announcement by eight international oil companies on Friday that they would not resume exports, despite previous assurances from Iraq’s oil minister that exports would resume soon. The federal Ministry of Oil has also called an expanded meeting with oil companies operating in the region to discuss the technical and logistical matters for resuming exports.
