Kurdistan Oil Exports Resume as Gulf Keystone Loads First Cargo at Ceyhan

Oil producers in Iraq’s Kurdistan region have successfully loaded the first export cargo from Turkey’s Ceyhan terminal, marking a critical step in the resumption of regional crude exports. Gulf Keystone Petroleum announced that it expects to receive payment for its portion of the cargo within 30 days. The company is already planning a second lifting toward the end of November.

The export resumption follows a two-and-a-half-year shutdown and is proceeding under an interim agreement struck between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan operators. This agreement allocates a share of the crude deliveries to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) as compensation for the federal government.

Eight international oil companies participate in the current export program, including Shamaran Petroleum, HKN Energy, and Hunt Oil. Notably, Norway’s DNO, the largest producer in Kurdistan, has not yet joined the export restart and continues to sell its crude directly to local traders for cash.

The federal government, through SOMO, is targeting 250,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of Kirkuk crude loadings at Ceyhan for November. This figure, spread across 12 scheduled cargoes, represents an 86% month-on-month increase, according to a loading program reviewed by Reuters.