Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq plans to begin direct oil export by August

Azerbaijan, Baku, May 21 / Trend A.Badalova / Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq plans to export oil through a new pipeline to the Turkish border by August, 2013, Reuters reported with the reference to the minister for Energy Resources of the administration Ashti Hawrami. "In August 2013 we will be able to directly export crude from the Kurdish region's fields. We will be responsible for exporting oil. It will still be Iraqi oil," Hawrami said at an oil conference in the Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq. The territory of the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq has oil reserves worth 45 billion barrels. The relations between the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq and Baghdad deteriorated in October 2011 after the U.S Exxon Mobil company has received a permission from the authorities of the Kurdish administration to conduct oil exploration and production in the Iraqi region. Baghdad considered the deal as illegal and warned the company that if it does not abandon the agreement with the Kurds, its deals with the central Iraqi government may be revised. According to Hawrami, once direct exports begin Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq would take the 17 percent of revenues the region is allowed from Iraq's national budget and pass the rest to the federal government. Hawrami said that the first stage of new pipeline is expected to be completed by October, 2012 and to transport oil from the Taq Taq oilfield. The second phase would connect to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline with a capacity of 1 million barrels per day by August next year though Turkey's port, he said. According to Hawrami, Kurdish administration in northern Iraq is also developing plans to build a separate pipeline that could connect to a refinery in Turkey's Ceyhan port by 2014. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az