ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said that Erbil is ready to discuss a new oil deal with Iraq’s central government under which Baghdad would buy Kurdish oil.

An agreement signed in February to resolve a long-standing dispute over Kurdish oil exports has fallen apart over Baghdad’s refusal to abide by the deal.

“Our agreement is based on Iraq’s budget law,” Barzani told Rudaw. “If they abide by it, we will abide it. But if they act as a buyer and want to buy Kurdistan’s oil we can sit down with them and talk about it,” he said. “But that requires a new meeting and a new deal.”

The prime minister said that his government has honored the February agreement that had guaranteed Erbil would get its 17 percent share of the national budget in return for 550,000 barrels of oil that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would export daily.

“Our agreement with Baghdad is based on the national budget,” Barzani explained. “The budget stipulates that Baghdad should send to the Kurdistan Region 1.2 trillion dinars every month. In return, the Kurdistan Region will contribute to the budget by exporting 250,000 barrels of its oil and facilitating the export of the rest from Kirkuk.”

Barzani said that Erbil has met the quota set in the agreement.

“But one of the issues with Baghdad is whether we count the oil exports monthly or annually,” he said.

“We are waiting for Baghdad to implement the budget law in return for the oil we have exported,” Barzani added. “We hope that Baghdad honors our agreement and sends Kurdistan’s share of the funds as spelled out in the budget.”

Rudaw