ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Media reports on Wednesday claiming the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is prepared to send Iraq 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil in exchange for financial backing are “a total fabrication”, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Safeen Dizayi, the KRG’s spokesperson, flatly denied reports concerning the content of Wednesday’s Supreme Oil and Gas Council meeting, which reportedly involved the long-standing oil dispute between the governments in Erbil and Baghdad.

“The meeting yesterday of the Regional Council for Oil and Gas was a normal meeting, and whatever was published about it contains no truth and is a total fabrication,” read the KRG statement, without offering any detail on the content of the meeting.

Sources told Rudaw ahead of the meeting that the Region is prepared to hand over 250,000 bpd of oil to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), as stipulated by the 2019 budget bill, provided Baghdad meets certain financial conditions.

If Baghdad is willing to pay the salaries of the KRG’s public employees, pay the debts the KRG owns to oil companies, and dedicate a budget to support the operation of oil fields, the source said the Region would be prepared to hand over the oil.

However, Rudaw understands the KRG will most likely be unable to meet its obligation to hand over the oil due to existing contracts and debt repayments.

Past and current lawmakers in the Region’s parliament and the Iraqi parliament have told Rudaw the KRG’s oil is sold under long-term contracts. The KRG is also relying on its oil revenues to repay outstanding debts.

The characteristically vague KRG statement did however say the Region “desires” to resolve issues with the Iraqi federal government through dialogue, without specifying what these issues are.

Rudaw has approached KRG spokesman Dizayi to clarify his statement, but is yet to receive a response.

Rudaw