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| Iraq |
| Turkey begins exporting Iraqi Kurdistan oil |
| 2014-05-24 |
| [The Peninsula] Turkey said Friday that oil from Iraqi Kurdistan was being exported to international markets, a move that could exacerbate already-strained tensions between Iraq's central government and its autonomous Kurdish region. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told news hounds that shipments of Iraqi oil from Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan began Thursday night. "It's Iraq that makes sales and possesses the oil and it's again Iraq that will govern the future sales," said Yildiz. The exports via Turkey came in defiance of Storied Baghdad which asserts its oil ministry must approve all sales. The oil ministry in Storied Baghdad and the prime minister's office did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. Iraq has some of the world's largest deposits of oil and gas, and the central government in Storied Baghdad insists it has the sole right to develop and export the country's natural resources. Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Storied Baghdad has been at loggerheads with the energy-rich autonomous northern Kurdish region, which has sought to sign deals with foreign firms and export without the consent of the central government. |
| Posted by:Fred |