“Kirkuk oil trucking to Iran will be halted in November in line with the American sanctions against Iran. [State oil marketer] SOMO plans to sell 30,000 bpd from a small oilfield near Mosul as of November as an alternative. SOMO issued the tender on Thursday,” a source familiar with Iraqi oil export operations said.
The former Iraqi prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, agreed a deal in mid-October with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to resume oil exports to Turkey’s Ceyhan port via the region’s pipeline, the sources said.
The deal is subject to final approval by newly appointed Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban, according to the sources.
“Kurdish authorities reached a deal with Abadi’s government to resume Kirkuk exports and it was decided that the final say should be left to the new government and oil minister to sign a final deal,” one source said.
The sources added that Iraq was currently exporting less than 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Iran via truck.
Reporter's code: 50101