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Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi wrapped a visit to Turkey with pledges of further cooperation in water and energy and a spate of MoUs spanning logistics, energy, and education. “Our aim now is to sign a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement as soon as possible that will benefit both sides,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a presser earlier this week.
Al Zaidi still left Ankara without a sealed agreement on crude pipeline flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline — a sticking point in Iraqi-Turkish relations for the last few years despite a strengthening multi-sector cooperation during the tenure of the former prime minister.
BACKGROUND- A 53-year-old agreement governing crude flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline expired last Monday without a replacement. The pipeline, which had been shut for a few years amid commercial disputes, resumed operations earlier this year. The pipeline is also Iraq’s main Hormuz bypass, allowing the country to export some 250k-350k of bb / d — almost 10% of its pre-war export levels.
Still, Turkey showed signs it may be serious about investing in Iraq’s energy sector. Turkey’s state oil company Turkish Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement to take up a 15% stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited (BP ECKL), the vehicle redeveloping major oil fields at Kirkuk in north Iraq. The Turkish President also said his government is eying an agreement to import some 1 mn bb / d of Iraqi crude.
