Iraq resumes oil exports from its northern region, the Kurdistan region, to Turkey on Saturday after an interim deal eliminated a two-and-a-half-year halt over legal and technical disputes. It adds supply to a global market that’s widely expected to move into a heavy surplus. According to Iraq’s oil ministry, oil exports operations began at a high pace and with complete fluidity, without any notable technical problems
Restart of Oil exports will initially boost the supply
Iraq Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani stated that the restart will initially boost international supply by as much as 190,000 barrels a day. The global oil market is likely to have too much supply soon. The International Energy Agency says there could be a record surplus next year since OPEC keeps increasing production.
In March 2023, the turkey paused the link following an arbitration court’s order to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in compensation. Several attempts to restart had failed due to financial and legal disagreements between the federal and regional governments and the oil companies involved. The halt led to the loss of at least $22 billion in revenue for Iraq, as stated by the country’s foreign minister. Moreover, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated earlier that it would encourage a more stable investment environment throughout Iraq for US companies. Iraq is the second-largest OPEC producer, and it has been pumping around 4.2 million barrels a day on average this year, and sends the majority of its exports via the port of Basrah in the country’s south to buyers in Asia.