Iraq says ‘technical’ matters holding back oil from Turkey

Iraq says ‘technical’ matters holding back oil from Turkey

Iraq said it’s working with oil buyers and the Turkish government to resume almost half a million barrels a day of crude exports from a Mediterranean port “as soon as possible.”

The delay is due to “technical procedures only and they need to be completed legally,” Basim al-Awadi, a government spokesman, said to Bloomberg on Wednesday. This should “only take a short period.”

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Ankara halted Iraqi shipments from Ceyhan — most of them from the region of Kurdistan — just over a month ago.

That was in response to an international legal ruling that it owed Baghdad $1.5 billion related to past exports from the terminal.

The dispute has held back oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It helped propel Brent crude beyond $85 a barrel in early April, before traders’ concerns over the state of the global economy pushed the benchmark below $80. If the supplies restart soon, they could put further pressure on prices.

As part of the discussions with oil traders, Somo wants to ensure that Kurdish crude is sold according to international prices, al-Awadi said. That signals that Baghdad will try to cut the steep discount