Authorities in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish Region say they have fulfilled all of their obligations in co-ordination with Baghdad to resume oil exports.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Natural Resources said it is now waiting for an agreement to be signed with the federal government.
“All domestic and foreign companies, except one foreign entity yet to formalise its commitment, have signed the agreement,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This exception does not impact the trilateral agreement among our ministry, the participating companies, and the federal Ministry of Oil.”
The ministry had submitted its official approvals to the Iraqi government on Tuesday.
“We await the federal ministry’s response to finalise the agreement, enabling the State Organisation for Marketing of Oil to commence oil exports from the Kurdistan Region promptly and implement the agreement’s provisions,” the statement added.
Control of the development of oil resources has been a key challenge since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and helped the Kurds gain official semi-autonomy.
The Kurds argued that the Iraqi constitution allows them to sign deals bypassing Baghdad, while the federal authorities maintain that this is illegal. The struggle has forced Baghdad at some points to withhold the KRG's share of the budget, plunging the region into economic hardship.
In July, the Iraqi cabinet approved a long-anticipated agreement with the Kurdish Region over oil exports. The KRG will “immediately begin delivering all the crude oil produced from the region’s oilfields” to the state oil marketer Somo for export, it said at the time.
In return, the Iraqi Finance Ministry will be “committed” to pay the Kurdish Region $16 a barrel, a price set late last year in amendments to the federal budget law and approved by the cabinet, it said.
At least 230,000 barrels a day will be handed over to Baghdad out of the region’s current total production of 280,000 barrels a day. The remaining 50,000 barrels will be reserved for local consumption.
