Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has agreed to increase its 2013 exports to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) – part of a tentative deal intended to help resolve a long-standing conflict with Baghdad over oil rights.
Top leaders from the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) met Thursday to negotiate the details of the agreement, under which the KRG would increase exports and Baghdad would make payments to cover the costs of Kurdistan's contractors.
In a statement released Friday, the KRG confirmed it planned to increase exports to 140,000 bpd in September and 200,000 bpd for the rest of the year, and that "the regional government will determine the quantities of crude oil that will be exported through 2013."
The statement did not clarify how much the KRG expected to export next year, but a member of the Parliament Oil and Energy Committee, who was briefed on the negotiations, said the KRG delegation agreed that the 2013 budget law should call for 250,000 bpd of exports from Kurdistan – as well as payments to its contractors.
By comparison, the past two budgets have set an expectation of 100,000 bpd in 2011 and 175,000 bpd in 2012.
Despite those benchmarks, exports from Kurdistan have been uneven.
