Shakhawan Abdullah: June and July Salaries to Be Sent as Erbil-Baghdad Oil Deal Raises Hopes

Peregraf 

Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Shakhawan Abdullah announced on Sunday that the salaries of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees for June and July will be transferred, stressing that “no salaries will be lost.”

In a press conference, Abdullah said that Erbil and Baghdad have reached an understanding on non-oil revenues and that there are “no problems regarding oil exports.” He added that the implementation of the Financial Administration Law has helped ease issues, noting that “what has become a big problem in Iraq are laws, decisions, and guidelines.”

Public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region have gone unpaid for two months, with the federal government linking salary disbursements to oil deliveries. The announcement comes as Erbil and Baghdad finalized a landmark deal earlier this week to resume international exports, raising hopes of ending a two-and-a-half-year suspension that has cost an estimated $50 billion.

On Thursday, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Ankara has been ready to restart exports through the Ceyhan pipeline since October 2023, but is waiting for Baghdad to approve a new framework. “We have been ready since October 4, 2023,” Bayraktar told Sky News, adding that Turkey has received “encouraging signals” from Iraqi counterparts. He also confirmed that Ankara is seeking an updated agreement that meets “global energy standards.”

Under the August 11 deal between the KRG and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Erbil will retain 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) for domestic consumption, while the rest will be handed over to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for export via Turkey.

The Kurdistan Region’s oil sector, which was crippled by drone attacks in July that slashed production by more than 70 percent, is slowly recovering. Output has risen to about 220,000 bpd, with most major fields restarting, though Tawke and Peshkabour remain offline.

Despite the breakthrough, officials caution that finalizing a Baghdad-Ankara agreement is critical to resume pipeline exports and stabilize revenues, while the KRG continues to grapple with an acute financial crisis.