Kurdistan-Turkey
Oil Pipeline Could Become Reality
Erbil, 26 Sept. (AKI) - Iraqi authorities are considering the construction of a
pipeline connecting the oil fields of Kirkuk, a contested area in Iraq's
Kurdistan region, to the seaports of southern Turkey, Baghdad's deputy oil
minister Mutasim Akram has said.
The proposed pipeline would pass through Kurdistan's provinces of Erbil and
Dahuk, Akram explained noting how these areas were "outside the zones of high
tension where continous acts of sabotage against oil plants take place".
Akram made the announcement in an interview with the Kurdish language daily,
Rozmana.
If the proposal were to be approved by the central government, then Baghdad
would "need maximum co-operation" from the Kurdistan regional authorities based
in Erbil, Akram said.
"The Turkish port of Jihan is the best maritime hub for the export of Iraqi
crude oil", said Akram while lamenting the "terrorist attacks" in Iraq which
continued to prevent his country from achieving its full oil export potential.
Akram said that crude oil would continue to be piped to Iraq's southern port of
Basra "where we expect an improvement in the situation soon," he added.
Authorities in Kurdistan claim the oli-rich Kirkuk area as part of their
autonomous region's territory, but local Arab and Turkmen ethnic minorities,
supported by Turkey, dispute this.
