Kurdistan Accuses Iraq Of Dishonesty After Kirkuk Attack

The Kurdish military has accused Baghdad of continuing a policy of dishonesty towards Kurdistan, according to a new report by al-Masdar news.

The Iraqi military’s attacks on Kurdish targets show “ongoing military aggression and unconstitutional demands”, the Peshmarga says.

The Kurdish military says it has been put in the defensive position since Baghdad decided to wage a war against the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to recapture parts of Kirkuk’s oilfields.

Crude oil from northern Iraq, including from the Kurdistan region, stopped flowing from the oil pipeline between Kirkuk and the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan early on Monday local time, Bloomberg reports, citing a port agent.

Following the Kurdistan region’s referendum which Iraq did not recognize, Iraq’s government forces completed in mid-October an operation to seize control of all oil fields that Iraqi state-held North Oil Company operates in the oil-rich Kirkuk region from Kurdish forces. A day later, disruptions in oil flows started, with reports that the flow of crude oil from Kirkuk to Ceyhan had plummeted to some 225,000 bpd, from around 500,000 bpd the previous day.

These developments benefit the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which has been implementing a policy of reducing its output by 1.2 million barrels per day. The policy has raised Brent barrel prices to $60, which is a growth of over 30 percent compared to pre-January levels.

OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, needed to hit the $60 benchmark in order to feel safe in authorizing its state-run firm, Saudi Aramco’s, initial public offering. Though only five percent of the firm is being offered to international investors, the revenues from the deal will sponsor the recreation of the Wahabbi and conservative Saudi Arabia of today, to the Dubai-ish and futuristic society of tomorrow.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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