Baghdad, 22 August 2023 (TDI): The Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani met with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan to discuss the importance of resuming oil flows following pipeline rehabilitation operations.
They met in Ankara, where they discussed bilateral and regional issues of common interest, emphasizing the significance of the crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey.
The resumption of crude oil flows was underscored, contingent upon the completion of necessary rehabilitation and examination operations required after an earthquake incident in February.
In addition to focusing on oil matters, the two ministers also discussed strengthening prospects for joint cooperation in the fields of energy, oil and gas, electrical interconnection, and renewable energy.
Also Read Türkiye, Iraq to jointly build Persian Gulf-Türkiye corridor
The Iraqi-Turkish joint economic committee, co-chaired by the ministers, decided to convene the nineteenth committee meeting in Baghdad, with the date to be determined later.
The halt in oil flows, which occurred on March 25, was a result of an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
ICC ordered Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018, primarily consisting of oil from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
According to a statement from oil ministry, the meeting’s outcome was an agreement to allow Turkey and Iraq to finalize pipeline maintenance before resuming oil flow.
Iraq’s oil minister, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, had traveled to Ankara to address various issues, including the resumption of oil exports through the Ceyhan oil terminal.
An Iraqi oil ministry official, closely connected to northern oil exports operations, noted that the Turkish energy ministry had informed Iraq’s state-owned marketer SOMO last month of the need for additional time to assess the technical feasibility of reopening the pipeline.
The official stated that this visit aimed to establish a clear date for the resumption of oil exports, acknowledging that reaching an agreement would require further discussions due to the complexity of issues and Turkey’s specific demands and conditions.
