KRG oil exports via Turkey rise 31 pct in September

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

AP photo

The Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) oil exports through Turkey rose by 31 percent in September compared to the previous month, data from the KRG’s Natural Resources Ministry revealed Oct. 6.

The KRG exported 18.6 million barrels of crude oil – an average of 620,478 barrels per day (bpd) – in September through its pipeline to the Ceyhan port in southern Turkey.

This amount was 14.6 million barrels of crude oil, equaling an average of 472,832 bpd in August. However, during that month there were nine days of downtime for the pipeline due to sabotage and theft, whereas in September there was only two days of downtime.

Thus, on a daily basis, average crude oil exports from the region to Turkey increased by 31 percent from August to September.

In September, fields operated by the government pumped out 13.8 million barrels of crude, or 463,285 bpd on average, while fields operated by the North Oil Company (NOC) produced 4.7 million barrels of crude for an average of 168,904 bpd, the KRG ministry said in the statement.

In August, fields operated by Arbil produced 10.9 million barrels, or 353,510 bpd on average, while fields operated by NOC generated 3.6 million barrels, or an average of 119,322 bpd.

The KRG and the central government in Baghdad continue to differ on oil sales and shares from the federal budget.