“We welcome the strong and clear position from our partners in the U.S. government regarding the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said on X. 

On Wednesday, Washington urged the Iraqi government to strike a deal with international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Kurdistan Region to resume oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline “as soon as possible, and to honor the existing contracts with US companies.” 

“We stand ready to make that happen. The KRG Minister of Natural Resources is in Baghdad for more talks today,” Ahmad said. “Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region help lift the whole country.” 

Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin exporting oil independently in 2014. 

Negotiations between Iraqi and Kurdish officials, as well as with the IOCs, have yet to yield a definitive resolution despite a February amendment to the federal budget law approved by the Iraqi parliament which increased the barrel production and transport fee for IOCs to $16. Baghdad is insisting on federal oversight, while Erbil is seeking a resolution that safeguards its economic interests. 

On Saturday, Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi told Rudaw that the main obstacles to the resumption of Kurdish oil exports have been cleared and that exports “may restart this month.” 

Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), an umbrella group of eight IOCs, told Rudaw after Washington’s comment that they have yet to agree on a mechanism to resume exports. 

"More meetings are required. APIKUR appreciates the priority that Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani and Senior U.S. Government leaders have placed on restoring oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline," he said.