Kurdistan initiates first independent piped exports

On 22 May, Kurdistan sold its first cargo of oil at the port of Ceyhan. The sale went ahead without agreement between the KRG and federal government. This sale of crude will allow the KRG to begin to fulfil its financial obligations to employees and, to an extent recompense oil companies operating in the region. The start of export sales does not resolve the underlying issue of who has the right to market oil from the region and there is no guarantee that exports will continue uninterrupted.