Iraq-Turkey arbitration ruling nears, with Kurdistan’s oil independence in the balance
A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned pipeline company Botas. (UMIT BEKTAS/Reuters)
ANKARA - As Iraq's federal government against the Kurdistan region's oil sector independence, perhaps its most important legal action is an eight-year-old arbitration case against Turkey that is nearing a decisive ruling with the potential to jeopardize Kurdistan's crude exports of more than 400,000 barrels per day.
Two senior Iraqi officials said they do not expect a final decision or award at a hearing this week at the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration in Paris, but government leaders and industry officials in Baghdad, Erbil, and Ankara all expect the proceedings to conclude later this year and anticipate a ruling in Iraq's favor.
