Iraq announces that it has won an international lawsuit with Turkey over Kurdish oil exports

March 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced this Saturday an arbitration ruling in favor of its long dispute with Turkey over crude oil exports from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and assured that, from now on, it has been open to a discussion of future “mechanisms” to keep oil flowing.

The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce decided in favor of Iraq on Thursday, according to the announcement of the Iraqi ministry, which will now address “the mechanisms for exporting Iraqi oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan with the competent authorities in the region of Kurdistan”, as well as with Ankara, in a way that guarantees that exports will be maintained and international commitments will be met.

Thus, according to a document collected by Bloomberg, Turkey will no longer allow the loading of crude oil for the benefit of the Kurdistan region without the consent of the federal authorities in Iraq. The document quoted an official from the Turkish state-owned company Botas alerting the Iraqi shipping office.

In the arbitration case, which has been at the Paris-based court for nearly nine years, Iraq has claimed that Turkey violated a 1973 pipeline transit agreement by allowing the export of crude from the Kurdish semi-autonomous region without Baghdad’s consent. .

Sources familiar with the ruling have reported that since the last tanker was loaded on Friday, no more ships are known to transport crude from the Kurdistan region and Turkey has stopped receiving oil through the Kurdistan pipeline.

More than 1 million barrels a day passed through the Ceyhan terminal in January, or 1% of global supplies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Baghdad sends 75,000 barrels a day to Ceyhan, while the Kurdish regional government sends some 400,000 barrels a day.