“No meeting has been made between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region yet because [Prime Minister] Abdul Mahdi’s cabinet is not complete and the new cabinet in the Region is being formed,” said Ghadhban, who is also the federal deputy prime minister for energy affairs.

The Kurdistan Region is required to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day through Baghdad, according to a provision of Iraqi federal budget law, he said. The Kurdistan Region, however, produces more than 400,000 barrels per day.

There has been some question about when the Region will begin oil transfers to Baghdad, with some Kurdish officials saying that the Region needs to fulfill existing contracts before it can meet its obligations under the budget law, NRT reported.

The Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to approve the draft federal budget for 2019 in a late night vote on January 23.

Reporter’s code: 50101