ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Region’s oil exports are expected to resume within the next 48 hours with Erbil awaiting Baghdad’s approval to begin sending oil, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Wednesday. 

“We sent our letter [to Baghdad] for the oil to be exported, and the remaining issue is just a technical matter, which, according to what we discussed, we expect that within 48 hours, the oil exports will be resumed officially,” KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani told reporters, adding that Erbil will keep the required amount for local consumption.

It marks a breakthrough after more than two years since Kurdish oil exports were halted. The standoff with Baghdad has incurred losses of over $15 billion and exacerbated difficulties in paying the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants’ salaries. 

The Kurdistan Region’s oil production capacity has now reached 240,000 barrels, according to Hawramani.

On Wednesday, the KRG’s natural resources ministry said it has “fulfilled all its commitments” for the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, calling on Iraq’s oil ministry to respond to restart exports “as soon as possible.”

In a statement, the ministry said that it “signed agreements with all domestic and foreign [oil] companies,” with the exception of one foreign company that the ministry assured “has no impact on the tripartite agreement.” The New Region understands that the company in question is Norwegian oil firm DNO.

Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) announced on Tuesday that the deal between Baghdad and Erbil to restart oil exports had “reached its final stages.” 

Hawramani said discussions are underway with Baghdad to secure public sector salaries for the remaining three months of the year, adding that an agreement for the 2026 budget will be reached in advance. The 2026 budget will be discussed under the monitoring of the Kurdistan Region's parliament.

The dispute between Erbil and Baghdad over oil and non-oil revenues has led to a budgetary conflict, with the Iraqi government suspending funding for the KRG's civil servant salaries. 

The long-anticipated resumption of exports comes after a tripartite agreement was signed on Monday between Erbil, Baghdad, and oil companies. 

Exports of the Kurdistan Region’s oil through the Turkish Ceyhan pipeline 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 the KRG to start selling oil independently of Baghdad in 2014.

The KRG has repeatedly reiterated that they have “more than fulfilled” the obligations relating to finding solutions with Iraqi authorities.