Kurds Set Plans to Begin Exporting Oil in June

The autonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq said it will start exporting crude oil in June, without seeking official clearance from the central government in Baghdad.

The Kurds and the central government, which grants all oil-export licenses, have been at odds over Iraq’s draft oil law as well as oil contracts the Kurds signed with foreign companies. Baghdad doesn’t recognize the contracts.

With those issues still unresolved, the Kurds didn’t seek approval from the Iraqi Oil Ministry to start exporting crude in June through a pipeline that runs to an export terminal in Turkey.

Kurdish Oil Minister Ashti Hawrami said in an interview that the Kurds worked with Iraq’s state-run North Oil Co. in recent months to connect pipeline infrastructure, enabling the Kurds to begin shipping 60,000 barrels a day early next month.

Wall Street Journal