Iraq resumes Kurdish-region oil exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port after more than two years

Iraq will resume exporting oil from the northern, semiautonomous Kurdish region through Turkey’s Ceyhan port after more than two years of halted shipments, officials said Friday. Operations are set to begin at 6 a.m. Saturday with an agreed throughput of 240,000 barrels per day, though about 180,000 to 190,000 barrels are expected to be exported while roughly 50,000 barrels will be used locally in the Kurdish region. The resumption is aimed at boosting Iraq’s oil revenue and helping stabilize relations between Baghdad and Erbil, even as disputes over revenue sharing and field management persist.

The resumption follows a tripartite agreement among the federal Oil Ministry, the Kurdish region’s natural resources ministry, and international oil companies operating in the area. Under the deal, oil produced in the Kurdistan region will be moved through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, with companies receiving about $16 per barrel to cover production and transportation costs. The United States supported and monitored the agreement, officials said. The export arrangement with Turkey runs through July 2026, with discussions planned on renewal after that date.

Norwegian operator DNO ASA said it had instructions to prepare for the start of exports beginning Saturday, though the firm will not directly export oil; it will sell production to buyers who move the oil into the export pipeline. DNO's executive chairman noted a broader expansion program and said the company is replacing equipment damaged in July drone attacks on its fields in Iraq.

In Baghdad and Irbil, officials have long tussled over sharing of oil revenues. Kurdish authorities unilaterally began exporting oil in 2014 through a separate pipeline to Turkey, a move Baghdad has labeled illegal because it bypassed the national oil company. Kurdish officials argue the practice helps compensate for budget transfers that have been withheld by the central government.

The deal signals a willingness to cooperate on revenue and field management even as broader constitutional and budget disputes linger, and it underscores international attention to stabilizing Iraq’s energy sector amid regional tensions.