Is Iraq Now Close To Ending Its Bitter Oil Exports Embargo?

It is nearly two years since the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) blocked oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP). The 25 March 2023 decision has seen billions of dollars in revenue lost by both sides, as around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kurdish crude exports and 75,000 bpd of Kirkuk crude sales have ceased to flow through the KRI into the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Hopes for a resumption of such oil flows have been buoyed by the Iraqi parliament’s approval last week of…