KRG elaborates the details of its oil file, the mechanism of the agreement with Baghdad

Erbil – INA
 
Kurdistan Regional Government clarified on Friday, the mechanism of its agreement with the federal government regarding oil imports, confirming work to establish two oil companies.
"Negotiations with Baghdad are continuing regarding the oil file, the budget and the rest of the files," noting that "KRG has agreed Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi regarding these two files, which ended with the 2021 budget agreement," said The spokesman for KRG, Jotiar Adel, in a statement to a number of media outlets, including the correspondent of the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
 
He added that " It was agreed, according to the budget law, to hand over 250,000 barrels of oil to SOMO after auditing the region's expenditures and imports, and in return the central government will to hand over 320 billion dinars per month to KRG until the audit is done, but the number was reduced to 200 billion dinars for no reason, noting that "the issue of negotiating with the federal government over the oil file has taken a lot from the life of the current government."
 
He stressed, "The need for coordination between the two governments,” explaining that "KRG Ministry of Natural Resources operates according to Iraqi law, and that lawsuits continue between Baghdad and Erbil regarding the oil file."
 
Adel stated that "KRG has a contract with Turkey for a period of 50 years to transport oil only through the Turkish Ceyhan and not to sell it," explaining that "the Kurdistan Regional Government is now working to establish two oil companies: the first in the name of (KROC) Company, which is specialized in oil exploration, and (Kurdish) company (COMO), which specializes in the export and marketing of oil. "
Adel also affirmed that "KRG produces 400 to 420,000 barrels of oil per day, most of which is exported, and 25,000 barrels remain for local consumption," explaining that "this quantity is sent to the (Kar) refinery to produce about one million liters of gasoline and the rest of other derivatives,"
"the price of a barrel of oil in Kurdistan is different from the price of a barrel of oil in the federal government because of the cost of extracting oil in Kurdistan is 3 times higher than the cost of extracting it in the rest of Iraq because of geographical nature, such as the terrain, as well as the specifications of the oil."
 
Adel emphasized, "There is an agreement with the company (Deliot), to calculates the other expenses of the oil extraction process," explaining that "all numbers and reports regarding production and export operations are announced every three months publicly, and we plan to announce them monthly, which will include the number of extracted , exported barrels, selling prices and costs. "
 
OPEC plus Agreement
KRG spokesman added, "The regional government has committed to OPEC Plus agreement in larger quantities than is required."
 
 
Petrol smuggling
 
Adel answered the question of INA reporter, about smuggling 7 million liters of gasoline per day from the governorates of central and southern Iraq to the region, by saying "there is no smuggling, and there is coordination between the two governments to stop smuggling and cooperate in all areas legally."