Repair of the Kirkuk-Turkey Pipeline Begins 'To Bypass the Kurdistan Region'

On Tuesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced its intention to increase oil exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline to 400,000 barrels per day. News sources, including Reuters, report that Iraq has begun repairs on this pipeline to 'bypass the Kurdistan Region of Iraq' following the controversial independence referendum. The city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq is an oil-rich city and holds strategic importance for the country; on the other hand, the Kurds consider this city their own, and the independence referendum was also held there. The news of the pipeline repairs comes as control of the city of Kirkuk is currently in the hands of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, while central government troops are advancing towards Kirkuk by fighting ISIS forces on the route from Hawija to Kirkuk. The High Commission for the Referendum and Elections of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq announced on Wednesday, October 5, that over 92% of eligible voters in last week's referendum voted in favor of the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan. However, holding this referendum sparked anger from Iraq, Turkey, and Iran, with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stating that he does not recognize it and has called for its annulment. All three countries have simultaneously approved sanctions against the Kurdistan Region, and the recent action by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil can also be examined in this context. Additionally, the news comes less than a week after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Thursday, October 5, during his return from a one-day trip to Iran, that his country, along with Iran and Iraq, would decide on cutting off oil supplies from northern Iraq to Kurdistan. Last week, Reuters described this move as a 'retaliatory action' in response to the independence referendum held in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In this context, on Tuesday, October 18, the Iraqi Minister of Oil ordered the commencement of repairs on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. This pipeline connects oil fields near the city of Kirkuk to the Ceyhan oil terminal in Turkey along the Mediterranean Sea and is largely under the control of the central government within Iraq. According to reports from the German news agency, oil exports through this pipeline were halted when the Islamic State group, ISIS, seized parts of northern Iraq in 2014.