Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region halted oil exports on Sunday, a move that will result in "big losses" for the national economy, Iraq's oil minister said. Kurdish government officials were not available for comment.
Oil minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said in a statement the Kurdistan Regional Government had given no reason for the move, adding it would mean "big losses for the Iraqi economy, which will be reflected on its revenues, on the people in the region specifically and the Iraqi people in general".
Iraq's central government and the KRG have longstanding disputes over control of Iraq's northern oilfields. Citing government sources, Reuters reported on Saturday that Kurdish crude exports had declined sharply in recent weeks to 50,000-60,000 bpd from 160,000 bpd. The sources did not know the reason for the decline.
Earlier on Sunday Luaibi confirmed the Kurdish export decline. He said exports had dropped to 50,000-55,000 bpd in the last two weeks but were rising again, without giving a current figure. He said he had been told by Kurdish officials it was due to "technical and maintenance work" in oilfields.
Iraqi Kurdistan halted exports in 2009 due to disagreements with the central government over contracts the KRG signed with foreign companies to develop its oilfields. The central government deems the contracts illegal. The region resumed exports in February, boosting Iraq's total exports. The OPEC producer exported a total of 2.189 million bpd in August, including 461,000 bpd from northern fields. Iraq's current oil production is 2.75 million bpd, the first time it has reached that level in 20 years.
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