Erbil, Baghdad, int'l firms extend oil export agreement

A trilateral agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and oil firms to export the Kurdistan Region's oil has been extended for another three months, after it was set to expire at the end of the year, a senior official at Iraq's oil marketing company told The New Region on Thursday, Report informs.

"The agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government has been renewed for another three months, meaning until March 31, 2026," Deputy Director of Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) Hamdi Shingali told The New Region on Thursday.

The agreement, set to remain in force through the end of 2025, was due to expire in the coming days.

Exports of crude oil from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline resumed in late September after a 30-month halt, following the signing of a breakthrough agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies operating in the Region.

Shingali said there are no issues so far between Erbil and Baghdad over the Kurdistan Region's oil exports, adding that the region exports between 200,000 and 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

Per the agreement, the Kurdistan Region will deliver "all crude oil" produced from its fields to SOMO for it to be exported through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, apart from quantities allocated for domestic use.