Iraq will resume exporting crude from its northern Kurdish region through Turkey’s Ceyhan port starting Saturday, officials told the Associated Press. The move ends a two-year stoppage that had slashed revenues and strained relations between Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

Ali Nizar al-Shatari, head of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation, said pumping will begin at 6 a.m. with an agreed quantity of 240,000 barrels per day. Of that, 180,000–190,000 barrels will be exported, while roughly 50,000 barrels will be consumed within the Kurdish region.

Why exports stopped and why now

The suspension dates back to early 2023, when the International Chamber of Commerce ruled against the KRG’s independent exports in an arbitration case. Several attempts at comp

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