Erbil, Kurdistan Region – In a major breakthrough, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government have finalized a comprehensive agreement to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, ending a costly suspension that has lasted since March 2023.

The deal, signed after weeks of intensive negotiations, outlines a new export mechanism that will see 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the Kurdistan Region’s oil production allocated for local consumption, while the remainder will be handed over to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for international export.

According to an informed source close to the agreement, technical delegations from both the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil began discussions on July 17, conducting field visits to assess production capabilities and infrastructure. After extensive talks, a final agreement was reached on August 11 and formally signed by over 20 officials from both sides.

The signatories included 17 members of the Iraqi federal delegation and five representatives from the KRG. Following the signing, the federal delegation returned to Baghdad, where the final step—approval from the Iraqi government—is now awaited.

With the bilateral agreement secured, the resumption of exports now depends on the Iraqi federal government finalizing talks with Türkiye to reopen the pipeline to Ceyhan port. The pipeline has been shut since March 2023, when Iraq won an international arbitration case against Türkiye over unauthorized Kurdish oil exports, leading to a halt in shipments.

KRG officials have repeatedly warned that the suspension has cost Iraq and the Kurdistan Region over $50 billion in lost revenue, severely straining both economies. They emphasized that the prolonged halt benefited no party and only deepened financial hardships.