Oil flow restarts from Kirkuk to Ceyhan

By Ali Mukarrem Garip

KIRKUK (AA) – The flow in the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline from northern Iraq into Turkey has resumed, an energy official from the city told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

Necat Huseyin, a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council Member Energy Commission, said that the flow restarted last night at the instructions of the Iraqi Oil Ministry, and since then 70,000 barrels of crude oil have been sent down the pipeline to the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Mentioning how the flow was disrupted for five months due to problems between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Huseyin said deliveries will continue today with an additional 30,000 barrels.

"We are working to reach the aim of 500,000 barrels of oil a day as soon as possible. The suspension of the oil flow affected Kirkuk the most," he added.

Baghdad decided to allocate $1 to the Kirkuk budget for each barrel of oil sold. Since the suspension of the oil flow, this payment has not been made. Kirkuk lost millions of dollars in the last five months, according to Huseyin.

Due to the oil exports payment problems, this March Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi ordered suspension of the oil flow from Kirkuk to Ceyhan.