Iraq won the crucial pipeline arbitration, but its prize is less than it hoped
Iraq-Turkey pipeline outlook unclear despite deal
Major issues remain despite agreement between Iraq and Kurdistan
It is a strange victory. Iraq won the crucial pipeline arbitration, but its prize is much less than it hoped. Turkey, which had wanted to compromise, comes out as the enforcer. And despite an apparent breakthrough in talks, the Kurdistan region—not even a party to the case—is the loser on both sides. Back in 2014, the autonomous Kurdistan region, which operates its own petroleum sector despite Baghdad’s claims of supremacy, began exporting oil via a link to the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, originally built in 1976 from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. In May 2014, Iraq's federal oil ministry filed for arbitration in Paris against Turkey and the country's national pipe
Also in this section
28 November 2023
Countries such as Pakistan will require fossil fuels for a long time to come, requiring a reframing of the narrative around the energy transition
28 November 2023
Rising LNG demand and supply risks are outpacing shipping logistics amid Panama and newbuild challenges
27 November 2023
The major’s acquisition deal could keep oil production in the mature play going for longer
27 November 2023
Fresh opposition from the US looks likely to be the final nail in the coffin for the long-delayed Iran-Pakistan connection
