Baku, Azerbaijan, July 8
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The revenues from the sale of the oil produced in the territory of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq have yet to be transferred to Iraq, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel quoted the country's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz as saying on July 7.
The revenues from the sale of oil produced in the KRG territory are being accumulated in Turkey.
Yildiz said Turkey has repeatedly stated that the revenues from the sale of this oil will be transferred to Iraq and the KRG.
However, the minister didn't specify the reasons for not transferring the oil revenues to Iraq.
To date, some $97 million in revenues from selling oil produced in the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq have accumulated in Turkey's Halkbank, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz earlier said.
Yildiz went on to add that this amount will be shared between Baghdad and Erbil [the capital of KRG].
Relations between the central government in Baghdad and the KRG have been strained since the agreement with Turkey was signed in 2012. Despite the fact that 17 percent of the KRG's revenues are supposed to come from oil sales, Baghdad opposes giving local authorities the right to independently export hydrocarbons and sign contracts on their exploration and production.
Iraq's central government and the KRG have also failed to reach an agreement on accumulation of oil revenues.
The Iraqi authorities claim that the revenues from selling the oil produced in the KRG's territory should be transferred to the special account in the U.S. However, the KRG leadership has repeatedly stated that the oil revenues will be kept in the accounts of Turkey's Halkbank.
Edited by CN