Oil exports from Kurdistan are set to begin by the end of this month, the Iraqi region’s government has confirmed.
The first two million barrels of oil from Kurdistan’s lucrative fields will be sold via tender at the end of January, with exports increasing regularly until an expected peak of around 12million barrels in December.
Oil has been flowing from Kurdistan’s new pipeline into Turkey, but was held there while Turkey looked to find a resolution to the ongoing dispute over Kurdish oil with the Iraqi government.
The Kurdish Regional Government confirmed the planned sale after inviting tenders for January on its website.
The news came as British oil firm Gulf Keystone confirmed exports had begun from the Shaikan field in the country, with two cargo loads of around 200,000 barrels of oil each being transported into Turkey for loading at the port of Dortyol.
“Significant progress has been made since the Shaikan Field Development Plan was approved in June 2013,” said Gulf Keystone chief executive Todd Kozel.
“We began commercial production 30 days after its approval and now the first cargo of Shaikan crude is being sold to the international market.
“Our short-term focus is on the trucking export route via Turkey, while we are working on getting access to the regional pipeline network.”
Gulf Keystone’s out from Shaikan is not currently using the same pipeline as other Kurdish fields, requiring it to be transported via truck.
The company, which has also received a £17.5million payment from Excalibur after winning a court battle over the fields last year, said it was selling around 10,000 barrels from the field.
The regional government’s pipleine carries heavy oil from the Tawke field to Turkey’s export hub of Ceyhan, on the Mediterranean coast.