Baghdad: We have not received notification that the Kirkuk-Ceyhan line is ready

Iraq has not received official notification from Turkey on whether the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline is ready to be operational again, two senior Iraqi oil officials said.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil was ready to go live last week.

‘WE DID NOT RECEIVE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION’

A senior official from the Iraqi Oil Ministry said: “As the Oil Ministry, the Turkish side must officially inform us about the latest developments regarding the status of the pipeline. “We only found out about it through the press,” he said.

Iraq’s top energy adviser said Iraq was awaiting talks on “ongoing financial and technical issues.”

A senior Iraqi Oil Ministry official said Bayraktar is expected to visit Baghdad and that the issue of resuming oil exports from northern Iraq will also be discussed during the talks.

WHAT HAPPENED?

After the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration decision ordered Turkey to pay $1.5 billion in compensation to the Iraqi government for unauthorized oil exports made directly by the Kurdish regional government to Turkey between 2014 and 2018, Turkey announced on March 25 that Iraq stopped the flow of oil from the north.

The maintenance work on the line, which began in the meantime, was completed last week. (REUTERS)