Iraq reopens Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline in competition with Kurds
Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister said on Tuesday that Baghdad is repairing pipelines that could send 350,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Turkey by the end of this month.
Reuters reported in an exclusive report that this action by the Baghdad government is likely to upset foreign oil companies and the Kurdish regional government.
The reopening of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, closed for a decade, creates a competing route for another pipeline passing through the Kurdistan region, which has been closed for a year due to halted negotiations between Baghdad authorities and the Kurdistan region on resuming oil exports.
Baghdad does not recognize investment and production-sharing agreements between the Kurds and foreign companies using the Kurdistan regional government’s pipeline and deems them illegal.
