BAGHDAD, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Thursday announced a deal under which the federal oil ministry will take crude produced in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and export it through a pipeline to Türkiye.
"This ensures fair distribution of wealth, diversification of export outlets and encouragement of investment," al-Sudani said on social media platform X.
The oil ministry said in a statement that, under the agreement with the Kurdish regional administration, all crude produced in Kurdistan-except volumes for domestic use-will be handed to Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for export via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.
The ministry said the deal followed months of talks aimed at bolstering Iraq's position in global energy markets while safeguarding sovereignty and the rights of all Iraqis.
The pipeline has been shut since March 2023 after an international arbitration ruling in Iraq's favour against Türkiye, in a dispute over the Kurdish regional government's independent oil sales without the federal approval.
Oil exports account for more than 90 percent of Iraq's state revenues.
