Spokesman for the Ministry of Oil, Assem Jihad, told Al-Monitor, “The federal government should control the oil wells, even those in the Kurdistan Region, which is seeking independence. The Iraqi Constitution states that all oil sources must be under the control of the federal government.”
Jihad emphasized, “The government’s control of oil wealth does not mean a certain national party will monopolize the sector. All oil resources will be fairly distributed among the people.”
He said, “Oil fields, mainly Bay Hassan and Havana in Kirkuk, are managed by the North Oil Company affiliated with the federal authorities and working under the supervision of the Ministry of Oil. No other company is allowed to operate there without the approval of the federal government.”
Iraqi Kurdistan still exports oil to the Turkish Ceyhan port in the framework of old agreements. Kurdish oil exports range from 220,000 to 240,000 barrels a day. Therefore, the KRG might seek joint control of Kirkuk’s oil in the future. However, Jihad warned that “any oil exportation without the knowledge of the Ministry of Oil would be considered smuggling punishable by law.”
Jihad added that sharing control of Kirkuk’s oil “should be decided by the federal government rather than the Ministry of Oil, which is only an executive party.” He noted, “The Ministry of Oil is waiting for the government’s decisions and policies in this regard.”
Al-Monitor asked Jihad whether the restoration of an oil pipeline far from the Kurdistan Region’s territories through Mosul to Turkey would constitute a step on the road to ending the KRG’s role in any oil exportations.
He answered, “The idea of such a pipeline is not new. It is the main pipeline to transfer oil, and it stopped working after the Islamic State attacked Mosul and the areas in north and west Iraq in 2014. Now, after the liberation of Mosul and other regions, the government is bent on restoring the pipeline as a main exportation means from Kirkuk to Ceyhan, passing through Salahuddin and Ninevah.”
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