Although Iraq is hoping to resolve some of its oil policy differences with Kurdistan that have left a crude oil tanker in legal limbo off Galveston’s coast for months, the country remains steadfast that all oil deals should be brokered by the government.
Iraq’s ambassador to the United States said Friday that he “sees positive signs” in the recently launched negotiations between Iraq and Kurdistan regarding oil revenue-sharing agreements, among other points of dispute.
But Lukman Faily reiterated the government’s position that deals made outside of official channels — like the tanker of Kurdish crude that arrived near Galveston three months ago — undermine the country’s unity.
“If we let one part of Iraq have their own policy … oil will not be a stabilizing factor for the economy and for the stability of Iraq,” he said in an interview with Fuel Fix. “Oil should be the gel which will help us in defining a common vision and a common approach.”
The United Kalavryta arrived in late July, carrying oil that Iraq says was smuggled out of the country through a pipeline that bypasses the state oil company.
Iraq sued to stop the cargo from being offloaded in the United States. The Kurdistan Regional Government fired back, arguing that the dispute has no place in U.S. courts. As both sides continue to argue the case in U.S. federal court, the tanker has remained anchored about 60 miles offshore.
The United Kalavryta has not offloaded its cargo, according to ship tracking data updated Friday afternoon that shows the vessel’s draft hasn’t changed.
Baghdad has made it clear that it prefers a consistent and coherent oil policy that encompasses all of Iraq rather than allowing any one province to strike out on its own, Faily said.
“Kurdistan should not be an anomaly,” he said. “It should be an integral part of Iraq.”
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