Oil exports from Kurdistan Region of Iraq via Turkey have restarted after the main pipeline was repaired recently, Kurdistan Region Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement
The pipeline, which pumps oil to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan from fields in Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Kirkuk, has been repeatedly targeted inside Turkey since a ceasefire between Ankara and Kurdish militants broke down in late July this year.
Exports from the autonomous region fell to an average of 472,832 bpd in August this year from 516,745 the previous month as a result of damage to the pipeline, which is the region’s main economic lifeline.
“Without such revenue, salaries of peshmerga forces, the security forces and other key government workers cannot get paid,” the ministry said in a statement. “These treacherous acts of theft and sabotage harm the ability of Kurds across the region to fight Islamic State terrorism.”
