Iraq Seeks Urgent Talks to Restart Oil Pipeline Halted by Dispute with Kurdistan
![Iraq on the map under the magnifying glas (© Shutterstock/Kachor Valentyna) Iraq on the map under the magnifying glas (© Shutterstock/Kachor Valentyna)](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/News/Iraq%20on%20the%20map%20under%20the%20magnifying%20glas_2.png?itok=mQhfsjkj)
Iraq's oil ministry called for urgent talks Tuesday with Kurdish authorities and international oil companies to restart crude exports via a pipeline to Turkey.
The flow of oil, which once accounted for about 0.5% of global supply, has been halted since March 2023 due to a legal dispute between Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The ministry said it wants to meet "as soon as possible" with KRG's natural resources ministry and international firms operating in Kurdistan "to reach a deal on resuming oil exports via the pipeline to Ceyhan," a port on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
The Iraq-Turkey pipeline (ITP) has been idle since an international arbitration court ruled in March 2023 that Turkey violated a bilateral agreement by allowing oil exports from Kurdistan without Baghdad's approval.
The arbitration ruling exacerbated a long-running revenue-sharing dispute between the central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, with talks to resume exports stalling. The oil ministry's statement indicates a renewed push to resolve the issue.