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Iraq oil minister, KRG authorities satisfy to go over oil export resumption

Iraq's top oil officials were satisfying on Sunday with authorities from the Kurdistan area and agents of worldwide business operating there for talks on an offer to resume oil exports via a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline that as soon as handled about 0.5% of worldwide oil materials has actually been stuck in limbo for more than a year after its closure as legal and monetary obstacles hamper the resumption of flows from the region.

Sunday's meeting in Baghdad, attended by Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdul Ghani and authorities from the Kurdistan region's. ministry of natural deposits, follows a call by Iraq's oil. ministry last month for Kurdish authorities and international. energy business to fulfill and discuss rebooting northern oil. exports. The conference is still going on to discuss concerns that prevent. the resumption of oil exports, stated a senior oil ministry. official on condition on anonymity due to the level of sensitivity of. talks. It's still early to say a last deal is possible to. reach however we can say the talks have positive aspects.

The talks are expected to focus on the Kurdistan Regional. Government's (KRG) production-sharing energy contracts, which. Baghdad wants to modify, and the oil production costs that the. foreign oil business claim for oil produced in the Kurdistan. area, said the official.

Iraq had actually blamed foreign companies, together with the Iraqi. Kurdish authorities, for the hold-up in restarting crude exports. because they had up until now not submitted their agreements to the. federal oil ministry for revisions.

It was not clear if the Kurdish delegates and the foreign. firms have accepted the arrangement to the oil ministry of their. contracts throughout Sunday's conference.

(source: Reuters)