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Iraq's Oil Ministry says that procedures for oil exports via Turkish pipeline are complete

Iraq's Oil Ministry says that procedures for oil exports via Turkish pipeline are complete

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Iraqi oil ministry stated that all procedures were completed for the resumed exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipe.

Iraq's Oil Minister said Monday that oil exports will resume from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region next week. This resolves a dispute of nearly two years that has disrupted oil flows, as relations between Baghdad Erbil have improved.

Sources have confirmed that the Trump administration has put pressure on Iraqi officials to allow Kurdish exports of oil to resume or else face sanctions along with Iran. Later, an Iraqi official denied the pressure and threat of sanctions.

Following the statements made by the oil minister earlier in the week, the federal government of Iraq (FGI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government(KRG) held technical discussions to work out the details needed for the resumed exports. This included a payment system that was acceptable to the oil companies.

The Iraqi Oil Minister's announcement follows the Iraqi Parliament's approval of a budget amendment on February 2, which set a rate for oil transportation and production costs to be $16 per barrel in Kurdistan.

The KRG is also required to transfer its oil production to the State Oil Marketing Organization, which is run by the government.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the oil ministry asked that KRG begin delivering crude oil to SOMO to allow exports to resume. (Reporting and writing by Ahmed Rasheed, Ahmed Tolba, and Maha El Dahan. Editing by Sharon Singleton.)

(source: Reuters)