03/04/2012
BAGHDAD, April 3 (AKnews) - The Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) today accused "influential parties" in the federal government of smuggling crude oil to Israel via the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Kurdish coalition Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussein al-Shahristani yesterday accused the Kurdistan Region of smuggling oil to Iran and Turkey, but this was denied by politicians and officials in the region.
Member of the oil and energy committee in the Iraqi council of Representatives Farhad al-Atrushi said: "The accusations of the al-Shahristani that the [Kurdistan] Region is smuggling oil abroad are baseless.
"The KBC has evidence that influential parties in the federal government are smuggling oil systematically.
"Al-Shahristani's accusations do not depend on documents that prove the charges. The main reason behind the launch of the federal government for these accusations is to cover up its crises and its failure in the provision of power to citizens," al-Atrushi added.
"Fifteen thousand barrels of Iraqi oil are smuggled daily through the Jordanian port of Aqaba to Israel."
With regard to the decision of the Kurdistan Region to stop its oil exports, al-Atrushi said: "The decision was taken because the federal government didn't pay the dues of foreign oil companies operating in the region, and the region will resume its oil exports if Baghdad pays the dues of these companies.
Hussein Shahristani"The current crisis between Erbil and Baghdad is not new. Certain people want to dominate the capabilities of the Iraqi people and blackmail the blocs to pass their plans.
"Among them is al-Shahristani, who works to block the adoption of the oil and gas law because he only wants to pass his views about the law."
KBC member Muayyid Tayyeb said in a news conference at Baghdad Council today that cutting the Kurdistan Region's share from Iraq's public budget means "beating the drums of war".
"If al-Shahristani wanted to declare war on the region, he would be alone because the Iraqi people would stand against him. The public budget is for all Iraqis. Al-Shahristani doesn't have the power to cut it.
"The federal government mustn't take any action that affects the Iraqi people, and that the Kurds are part of. The evidence about the absence of a genuine partnership in the country is what a number of influential people in the federal government say [would be the reason for] cutting the budget and the expulsion of this or that official from the federal authority in Baghdad."
Kurdistan's Ministry of Natural Resources announced on Sunday about suspending all exports of oil from the region until further notice because the federal government did not pay the dues of foreign oil companies operating in the region.
The Iraqi government agreed on March 28 this year to pay $558m (650bn IQD) as dues for oil companies operating in the region, while the Ministry of Finance announced the allocation of more than $2bn (2.3tr IQD) within the 2012 budget to pay for all oil companies operating in Iraq.
From mid-2009 the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) started pumping about 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) through the pipe connecting the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The KRG then raised the amount to 175,000 bpd in mid-2011.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced on January 18 this year about a plan to increase its oil production during the current year to 3,400,000 bpd and to increase its oil exports to 2,600,000 bpd.
Iraq exports its crude oil from the ports of Basra and Khor al-Amaya in the Arabian Gulf, as well as the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The proportion of oil exports from Basra is 90 percent of the total exports, while the remaining amount is exported from Kirkuk.
Iraq currently produces about three million barrels of crude oil per day and exports approximately 2,200,000 bpd.
By Fulaih al-Jawari
AKnews.com
