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Oil exports from Kurdistan Region halted as Baghdad breaks payment agreement, says ministry
02/04/2012 09:47
ERBIL, April 2 (AKnews)- Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have been stopped from today over accusations that Baghdad broke it payment agreement, according to a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"The export of oil from the region has been stopped from today because the federal government in Baghdad has not honored its payment commitments," the ministry revealed.
"After consultation with the producing companies, the ministry has reluctantly decided to halt exports until further notice. There have been no payments for 10 months, nor any indication from federal authorities that payments are forthcoming."
The ministry added: “We hope that this is a temporary measure and that those in the federal government responsible for non-payment will quickly realize that their failure to adhere to their agreements is not in the interests of the Iraqi people.”
The ministry explained that from now on production will be diverted to the local market for processing and refining to generate an alternative source of cash flow for the producing companies.
“Once this unfortunate non-payment situation has been satisfactorily resolved we will do our utmost to increase exports above the target of 175,000 barrels per day included in the 2012 Iraq budget," the ministry said.
No payment has been received from Baghdad since May last year.
By Hemn Hadi
DM/AKnews
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02/04/2012 09:47
ERBIL, April 2 (AKnews)- Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region have been stopped from today over accusations that Baghdad broke it payment agreement, according to a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"The export of oil from the region has been stopped from today because the federal government in Baghdad has not honored its payment commitments," the ministry revealed.
"After consultation with the producing companies, the ministry has reluctantly decided to halt exports until further notice. There have been no payments for 10 months, nor any indication from federal authorities that payments are forthcoming."
The ministry added: “We hope that this is a temporary measure and that those in the federal government responsible for non-payment will quickly realize that their failure to adhere to their agreements is not in the interests of the Iraqi people.”
The ministry explained that from now on production will be diverted to the local market for processing and refining to generate an alternative source of cash flow for the producing companies.
“Once this unfortunate non-payment situation has been satisfactorily resolved we will do our utmost to increase exports above the target of 175,000 barrels per day included in the 2012 Iraq budget," the ministry said.
No payment has been received from Baghdad since May last year.
By Hemn Hadi
DM/AKnews
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
