ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The UK-listed Gulf Keystone on Monday said that they anticipate export rates from the oil fields they operate in to reach maximum capacity within days.

“Export volumes are expected to reach full capacity in the next few days based on the continued ramp up of pipeline availability,” the company said after confirming that exports from Sheikhan field, operated by the company, have resumed since Saturday.

Exports of crude oil from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline resumed on Saturday after a 30-month halt, following the signing of a breakthrough agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies operating in the Region.
 
Per the agreement, the Kurdistan Region will deliver “all crude oil” produced from its fields to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) to be exported through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, apart from quantities allocated for domestic use.

The halt came at a cost of some $30 billion in revenue for Erbil and Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Saturday phoned President Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, as well as Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The Iraqi prime minister “expressed his appreciation for the positions of the Kurdish leaders and forces that participated in achieving the recent agreement,” the statement added, underscoring the “concerted efforts between the federal government and the regional government that led to the agreement.”

 
A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) statement shared details of Sudani’s phone call with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, noting that Sudani had “thanked the [Region’s] prime minister for reaching this important agreement, and the [Region’s] prime minister congratulated the federal prime minister for not allowing obstacles to prevent reaching the agreement.”

Earlier on Saturday, PM Barzani thanked the United States in particular for its role in restarting the exports.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday welcomed the tripartite agreement to resume the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, stating that the US-facilitated deal will bring about “tangible benefits” for both the US and Iraq.