ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region’s oil exports could resume next week, according to an Iraqi lawmaker on Wednesday, as relevant authorities continue talks on the proper mechanisms to restart the process after a two-year halt.

The Iraqi parliament's oil and gas committee on Wednesday hosted a delegation from the federal oil ministry for a meeting aimed at resolving obstacles to resuming Kurdish oil exports.

The meeting concluded without a definitive outcome, with the two sides set to continue talks next week.

“God willing, the export of the Kurdistan Region’s oil will resume next week, according to what the members of the committee formed by the oil ministry said,” Haibat al-Halbousi, head of the parliament’s oil and gas committee, told reporters following the meeting.

Halbousi noted that there are several points that are up for discussion, but stressed that the first step would be the resumption of exports.

Exports of the Kurdistan Region’s oil through the Turkish Ceyhan pipeline, where part of Kirkuk’s oil was also exported, were halted in March 2023 after Ankara lost a case against Baghdad in a Paris-based arbitration court. The case accused Ankara of breaching a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to start selling oil independent of Baghdad.

After the nearly two-year halt, Baghdad and Erbil eventually announced late February that they reached an agreement to resume the Region’s oil exports to the international market, but the process has yet to restart with international oil producers demanding payment surety, transparent implementation of Iraq’s budget law stipulations, and resolution of payments that are in arrears before resuming the work.

The halt in exports has dealt a major blow to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region's economy, with over $27 billion in lost revenue to date.