Iraq restarts exports of Kirkuk crude oil through Ceyhan pipeline

The federal government of Iraq has restarted exports of Kirkuk crude oil through the Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline Friday, paving the way for a rise in loadings from OPEC's second-largest producer.

The government of Iraq and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government have agreed a tentative deal under which the latter has given assurances that it will transfer all federal Iraqi crude to storage tanks operated by North Oil Company (NOC) at Ceyhan for Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization to sell, sources added.

SOMO has not exported any crude oil from Ceyhan since June 2017.

Last October, federal government forces recaptured the key Kirkuk fields from KRG and NOC subsequently took control of them, shutting down exports from the northern pipeline route by around 300,000 b/d.

Production from the NOC-operated fields -- comprising Bai Hassan, Avana Dome, Bab Dome, Jambour and Khabbaz, all in the Kirkuk area -- is currently around 300,000-350,000 b/d.

The restart to the northern pipeline route comes a month after the Iraqi parliament chose Kurdistan's former prime minister, Barhan Saleh, as its next president, in a move that has helped break the country's long-running stalemate between Erbil and Baghdad over oil exports.

source: S & P Global Platts