Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] has issued a stern warning to the KRG over their attempts to export large quantities of crude oil to Turkey, describing it as “a red line“.
“The Kurds are under obligation to ferry all the oil they produce to the national export systems,” said the minister. “But unfortunately this is not the case … Our oil differences are exacerbating.”
The Kurds say they can produce up to 200,000 barrels a day but the dispute over how to export the volume and who will collect the royalties have not made it possible to add the volume to Iraq’s surging oil exports.
There are no confirmed reports of the volume of crude oil the Kurds are shipping to Turkey, but the minister said the government would not tolerate any action by the Kurds to export their oil to neighbouring states.
