Kurdistan Resumes Oil Exports to West after Three Years Halt



ERBIL—
An oil tanker which transports crude oil from the Kurdistan Region is heading to the west, likely to the US, recommencing oil import from the region after three years of pause, Bloomberg news reported on Thursday.

According to the data obtained by the agency, the Neverland, (Aframax tanker, with the normal capacity of 650,000 barrels) left the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday after leaving a port in southern Turkey a week before.

In mid-2014 the oil shipments from Kurdistan to the US were suspended due to differences between Kurdish and Baghdad governments over the Kurdistan Region's authority to sell oil independently from Baghdad.


Kurdistan authorities began exporting oil on their own after repeated calls on Baghdad for sending the due budget share of Kurdistan proved futile.

The stride was disturbed as Baghdad blocked Kurdish deliveries to the US and warned it will take necessary measures against the companies dealing with the Kurdistan Region.

However, the Islamic State (IS)'s broad offensive in June 2014 and its occupation of large territories of the country pushed Kurdistan and Baghdad authorities to sideline the oil dispute temporally and focus on coordination to eliminate the extremists.
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