Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 25 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
Oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdish autonomy in October will hit 200,000 barrels per day, and it will rise to 1 million barrels a day by 2015, Oil Minister of the autonomy Ashti Hawrami said today, the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper said on Tuesday.
A new oil pipeline with a capacity of 1 million barrels per day will be built in connection with the increase in oil exports between Turkey and Kurdish autonomy. The construction operations are planned to be completed in 2014, he said.
Regarding reaching an agreement on arrear payment for oil supply with the Central government, Hawrami said that this is a temporary agreement, which will operate until the oil law was adopted by the Iraqi Parliament.
He said Baghdad will start paying a debt next week. The total debt is $858 million.
Hawrami added that the production capacity of the Kurdish autonomy will be increased to 70,000 barrels of oil by early next year. Thus, in 2013 the Kurdish autonomy will not need oil products supplied by the central government.
Iraqi central government and the Kurdish autonomy reached an agreement on oil payments. According to it, Baghdad will repay all the debts for the oil export to the autonomy and will pay for the work of foreign companies in the autonomy. The Kurdish side will continue to supply oil to the central government, stopped four months ago.
Relations between the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq and Baghdad deteriorated in October 2011 after US-based Exxon Mobil received permission from the Kurdish authorities on the exploration and production of oil in this Iraqi region. Baghdad considered the deal illegal and warned the company that if it did not abandon the agreement with the Kurds, its deals with the central Iraqi government may be revised.
According to BP, the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq has oil reserves of 45 billion barrels.