Informed sources told Reuters that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is exerting intense pressure on the Iraqi government to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
A swift resumption of exports from Kurdistan could help compensate for the potential decline in Iranian oil exports, which Washington has pledged to reduce to zero.
On Monday, Iraq’s oil minister unexpectedly announced that oil exports from the Kurdistan region would resume next week.
This move would mark the end of a nearly two-year dispute that had significantly reduced the flow of over 300,000 barrels per day of Kurdistan’s oil through Turkey to global markets.
Reuters spoke to eight sources in Baghdad, Washington, and Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, who declined to reveal their identities due to the sensitivity of the issue. They stated that mounting pressure from the new U.S. administration was the primary driver behind Monday’s announcement.
Four of the eight sources noted that Iraq’s announcement of the export resumption was rushed and lacked details on how the technical issues that need to be resolved before the flows can restart would be addressed.
