Iraqi Kurdistan's oil exports may start flowing through its own pipeline via Turkey within weeks, and without necessarily agreeing payment protocol with the Baghdad central government, the region's natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami said.

"We could even see flows before Christmas," he told a conference in Istanbul on Thursday, bringing forward previous forecasts that the first flows would be early next year.

The 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) pipeline is being built by Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which has proposed taking 17 percent of Iraq's total oil revenues, based on an article in the country's constitution.

Hawrami said Arbil would press ahead with exporting oil whether or not Baghdad agree the payment plan. "We are not ignoring Baghdad but if nobody wants to speak with us, that's fine. We have been patient for ten years."

Once the pipeline comes online KRG will phase out exporting its exports by road to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.