Iraq is "optimistic" about resolving a long-running dispute so that the country’s autonomous Kurdish region could export oil to international markets through Turkey, Iraq’s oil minister said on Tuesday.
Iraq is "optimistic" about resolving a long-running dispute so that the country's autonomous Kurdish region could export oil to international markets through Turkey, Iraq's oil minister said on Tuesday.
Asked by reporters if he was optimistic about a deal, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi told reporters: "Yes," adding that Iraq hoped to export 3.4 million barrels per day of crude oil next year, including 400,000 bpd from Iraqi Kurdistan.
The comment came as Turkey voiced hope on Tuesday that Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish north of Iraq would resolve the row.
"The ball is now in the court of northern Iraq and the central Iraqi government and I hope they reach agreement and give us good news," Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said in a speech in Ankara.
His comments came amid mounting tensions between Baghdad and Ankara over a pipeline which could begin pumping oil exports to a Turkish port from the autonomous Kurdish region this month.
"The plan actually for next year is 3.4 million barrels (per day) of Iraq crude oil to be exported, 3.0 million from the central government regions and 400,000 is from the Kurdistan region," Luaybi said in Vienna ahead of a meeting of OPEC to discuss the cartel's production ceiling.
Luaybi added that an extra 700,000 bpd would be produced for Iraqi consumption, bringing total output to 4.1 million bpd.
Iraq's oil exports rose for a third month in a row in November but remained below historic highs as the country looks for revenues to fund much-needed reconstruction, data released on Sunday showed.
Average daily exports rose to 2.381 million bpd, from 2.25 million bpd the previous month and 2.07 million bpd in September, according to figures released by the oil ministry.
Crude sales brought in revenues of $7.32 billion during November, which also marked a third monthly increase in a row.
