Iran and Iraq's KRG sign energy agreement


IRBIL — Iran signed an agreement with Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) for oil and natural gas on Sunday, according to a Kurdish official. The agreement proposes the construction of two pipelines between the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and Iran, and the regional government would receive between 3 and 4 million liters of refined oil fuel and natural gas in return for sending crude oil to Iran. Currently, 1.5 million barrels of oil from the KRG is stored in Turkey's Ceyhan port, waiting for the approval of Iraq's central government to be exported. The regional government has been embroiled in a long-running row with the central government in Baghdad over shares of oil revenues, with Baghdad opposing the export of stored Kurdish oil from Ceyhan, claiming it would bypass the country.