-Kurdistan region has agreed to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2013 if Baghdad pays operators in the Kurdish region, the Kurdish regional government (KRG) said.

Kurdistan halted shipments of its oil in April in protest over what it said was the central government's failure to pay foreign oil companies, but resumed exports after reaching an initial deal in September.



The agreement was reached during a visit to Baghdad by a Kurdish delegation, which met ministers from the federal government to iron out disagreements over the 2013 draft national budget.



"The two sides agreed for Kurdistan to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day on the condition that the Iraqi government makes payments to the oil companies in Kurdistan," the KRG said.



Baghdad rejects the deals signed between Kurdistan and oil companies as illegal and has blacklisted some that have ventured into the northern Kurdish region.



Kurdistan says its right to grant contracts to foreign companies is enshrined in the Iraqi constitution, which was drawn up following the 2003 invasion that ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.