Iraqi government proved PUK president's words in action

Reports 10:31 AM - 2023-05-07

PUK President Bafel.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its President have repeatedly highlighted the importance of reaching an agreement between the governments of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region on the oil issue, which needed to be agreed upon sooner, before the present oil scenario in the Kurdistan Region emerged. As a result of the agreement between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, which the PUK had previously desired and deemed a solution, it is now clear that Basra oil will make up for the oil of the Kurdistan Region.

Baghdad is prepared to negotiate a compromise with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on the oil issue, according to PUK President Bafel Jalal Talabani, who previously stated that he saw this as the key to resolving his concerns.

President Bafel said during the second Annual Erbil Forum in early March: "Baghdad is willing to reach an agreement with us. From Baghdad, we can serve the citizens of Kurdistan. As the prime minister says, only Basra is a thousand times richer than the Kurdistan Region. Additionally, a legal approach to make oil revenue transparent is through a deal with Baghdad."

Qubad Talabani: We support the agreement between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region

SOMO must oversee the sale of oil in the Kurdistan Region, and all associated expenses and income must be transparent.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Qubad Talabani, said, while taking part in the Iraq Forum for Iraqi Stability and Revival in Baghdad, that he does not care who is selling the oil but the sale and revenue from the exports is the concern, implying that there should be transparency in both spending and income. 

"We also support the oil deal reached between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and SOMO is responsible for exporting oil from the Kurdistan Region. "

Iraqi Prime Minister: We will provide the salaries of Kurdistan employees

Whether or not oil from the Kurdistan Region gets exported, the Federal Government is responsible for paying KRG employees' salaries.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani stated last Wednesday at the Iraq Forum that it is the central government's responsibility to pay employees' salaries regardless of the sale of oil.
He said: "It is in charge of and will pay the salaries of the Kurdistan Region's employees. "

The suspension of the Kurdistan Region's oil exports has not affected Iraq

Bahjat Ali Ahmed, an oil and gas management expert, told PUKMEDIA: "According to OPEC + figures set for April, Iraq can produce 4.414 million barrels of oil per day. Excluding the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk, which produced only 80,000 barrels of oil each last month, Iraq produced 4.13 million, 284,000 barrels fewer than its allotted amount."

Ahmed continued: “3.288 million barrels of this amount were exported, with 842,000 barrels put aside for domestic refining.”

"The suspension of Kurdistan Region oil sales has not affected Iraqi oil production and revenues, " he stated. "If the Kurdistan Region continued to produce its own capacity, it would have to produce only 160,000 barrels due to Iraq's compliance with the OPEC + decision. "

The PUK put the Kurdistan Region on the right track

PUK has previously demanded that the Kurdistan Region sells its oil in accordance with the constitution so that the proceeds might better serve the needs of the people.

Karim Shkur, a PUK faction member of the Iraqi parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "What is currently happening between the two governments is completely constitutional and legal as we have agreed to be a region in Iraq."

"The PUK has already taken this right path regarding the export of oil, which will help the people to benefit more from the oil export process and the people will see this fact in the future, " he added.

Due to the oil's current suspension in the Kurdistan Region, Basra's oil profits will assist the region's employees, which is the proper method that the PUK has fought for and supported. The decision by the Iraqi Prime Minister to send funds to the Kurdistan Region and make up for the suspension of oil exports there with Basra's oil sales validates President Bafel's assertion that the Kurdistan Region and Iraq can share oil and that having Baghdad oversee oil exports is the proper course of action.



PUKMEDIA