The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) stated the oil agreement with Kurdistan Region does not oblige the federal government to repay the debts of oil companies.

The agreement does not explicitly state that Baghdad will be responsible for repaying the debts owed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to oil companies. Thus, this issue is not within the framework of the deal.

Oil Exports Tied to Federal Budget

Speaking further on the details of its agreement with the KRG to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, SOMO noted that the agreement is entirely based on the contents of the Iraqi three-year budget law.

Exports Aligned with OPEC Quotas

SOMO confirmed that the amount of oil exported through the Kurdistan Region will be within the general share of Iraq determined by OPEC, as this is part of Iraq's commitment to international agreements to maintain stability in energy markets.

Oil Exports Resume from Kurdistan After Two-Year Halt

In the landmark agreement signed and announced on September 25, oil exports recommenced from the Kurdistan Region on September 27 to global markets via the Iraqi-Turkey pipeline, which had been suspended for nearly two years and six months.

As a step toward settling disputes between Erbil and Baghdad and enhancing the Kurdistan Region's and Iraq's overall economies, the accord was hailed both domestically and internationally.

KRG, IOCs to Address Outstanding Debts

At the time, Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), told Channel8 that APIKUR and its member companies will hold a joint meeting within 30 days to begin addressing outstanding debts, highlighting that existing contracts are scheduled for renewal at the end of December.

Concurrently, eight international oil companies (IOCs) said in a statement, “The KRG and IOCs also agreed to meet within 30 days of resuming exports to work towards creating a mechanism for settling the outstanding debts owed to IOCs.”