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OO iill && GGaass BBuulllleettiinn ► 06.12.2013 Flow of N. Iraqi oil delayed Hürriyet Daily News, 04.12.2013 For almost a week, we have been talking about the comprehensive energy agreement that Turkey signed with northern Iraq. When the deal was struck without seeking the approval of Iraq’s central administration, moreover signing it after declaring “we have not signed it,” things went wrong when it was met with a harsh reaction. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz had to rush to Baghdad after the harsh reaction displayed by the Iraqi central government. He said the Iraqi central government’s approval will be sought as part of energy cooperation efforts with North Iraq. On his way back from Baghdad, Yildiz went to Arbil and advised who his contacts were to N. Iraq officials who he had talked to one week ago. When at home, Yildiz said, “Iraqi and N. Iraqi officials should agree.” It is not openly said but the truth behind these visits is this: the oil that will flow through the planned pipeline from N. Iraq, the one that N. Iraq Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said will begin to flow around the New Year, or ‘even sooner,” is likely to be delayed at least two or three months. This is a possibility in the case that N. Iraqi and Iraqi administrations agree soon. If they do not agree, then that means oil flow through the pipelines to Turkey will be delayed further. If the administrations of Iraq and N. Iraq never agree on oil exports to Turkey, then things will get even more complicated. If you ask how we have come to this stage, it is because Turkey, despite all warnings, signed a comprehensive deal with N. Iraq last week without the approval of Iraq’s central administration; subsequently then telling the public “we have not signed a deal,” and then it was revealed that it had signed it. If the deal had not been signed after agreeing with N. Iraq, but after getting the approval of the Iraqi central government, in other words if business had been done with normal procedures, and if the truth had been told, maybe things would have worked faster. Turkish-Iraqi relations that are the focus of attempts to make them warmer would not have been ruined. Now, the building of confidence would even take a while. Meanwhile, we see that most of the debate focuses on the oil N. Iraq will supply to the existing pipeline and how its payment would be done. The tripartite mechanism said to be established is expected to discuss the flow of oil to the pipeline and what kind of system is to be set up for payment matters. However, it is being forgotten that the agreement between N.Iraq and Turkey is not limited to this only. Consequently, it will not suffice to reach an agreement solely on this issue with Iraq’s central government. It is obvious that the deal on what N. Iraq really wants, the one about building of “a direct pipeline to Turkey,” will cause huge objections from the central government. Also, the Iraqi central government will not welcome the agreements about oil and natural gas fields in N. Iraq that Turkey will own directly through the oil company TEC that it has formed and co-owned through other oil companies. In short, there is a long way to go before Turkey benefits from N. Iraqi energy. 1 Davutoglu: Arbil-Baghdad row temporary but energy deals permanent Anadolu Agency, 06.12.2013 Ankara expects tension in Iraq to drop and energy cooperation with Baghdat and KRG expand, Ahmet Davutoglu has said. “Today, Arbil and Baghdad are two leaders who don’t get along, but they might get along tomorrow. On the other hand, once it is determined from where the energy will be transferred, it won’t be easy to change afterwards. Therefore, we must focus on what’s permanent,” Davutoglu said during a live interview. “One wishes for Bagdhad and Arbil to overcome their problems. But Turkey will continue to increase its cooperation on energy and other areas with Northern Iraq,” he added. Two weeks ago, Turkey signed five trade contracts and one protocol - for the exploration of the multi-billion-dollar hydrocarbon resources of northern Iraq - with Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, stirring Baghdad’s ire. The Iraqi government reacted by barring Turkish private planes from entering its airspace. Following Baghdad’s move, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, who was due to participate in a key energy conference in Arbil, traveled first to the Iraqi capital to brief about Ankara’s deals with the KRG and to reassure the central government . The discord comes amid suggestions that a new pipeline, linked to the existing Kirkuk-Ceyhan line, could begin pumping oil exports from KRG as early as next month. “Some want Turkey to just sit and watch as the energy flows. But our eyes are now open; energy will flow but Turkey won’t just sit and watch. That energy will flow crossing Turkey,” Davutoğlu said. “They will make provocations and acts of terror. They will want the fraternal people in this geography to fight each other, to parcel out the energy resources, or for the prices of energy to increase to benefit some countries. But our goal is this: The more peace there is, the more energy there will be. That’s why we want tension to drop in Iraq and Syria,” he added. Davutoğlu also touched on the issue of the border between Turkey and Iraq, saying it should “loosen its meaning” in the same way as the borders separating members of the European Union. “There will be no Turkish-Kurdish conflict in this region. Hopefully, one day you will be able to go to Arbil with your one ID card, in the same way as you can go to Georgia. It will be the same one day for Aleppo and other places, as long as we don’t waste our energy and continue with our vision,” Davutoglu said. 2 Turkey bids to solve oil row with Baghdad, KRG Hürriyet Daily News, 02.12.2013 Turkey pushes for a tripartite mechanism to be formed with Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government for the sale of northern Iraqi oil and gas. Turkey is seeking to form a tripartite mechanism between Turkey, Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) for the sale of northern Iraqi oil and gas, thus drawing a skeptical Baghdad into the arrangement. “We stand by the agreement we made with northern Iraq, but we hope it can be carried out through a three-way mechanism,” Taner Yildiz said at the 3rd Kurdish-Iraq Oil and Gas Conference in Arbil, the KRG capital. “As Turkey, we are trying to move this forward in a careful and courteous way ... We would like to have the consent of the central government of Iraq for the commercial export of oil from the KRG to Turkey and start a trilateral cooperation scheme that will be beneficial to all,” Yildiz said. A day before the conference, he met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani in Baghdad, to try to mend ties with the central Iraqi government, which says independent Kurdish oil exports would be illegal. Turkey-KRG deals have recently contributed to a souring of relations between Ankara and Baghdad. At the conference, Yildiz also held a meeting with KRG President Masoud Barzani. The two reportedly spoke about a roadmap for oil deals that would include Baghdad, which is currently bypassed by the KRG. However, as yet they have been unable to reach a final agreement with Baghdad, a source told Anadolu Agency, adding that “problems remained” and the process would have to continue with reciprocal negotiations and meetings. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said oil deals with Turkey did not pose risks to against any sides and nobody should worry, speaking during the opening ceremony of the conference, Cihan News Agency reported. Barzani stressed that they wanted a “common life,” particularly with regard to authority over the oil and the income partnership. He also said they had been in talks with neighboring countries, Turkey and Iran, for the last two years, adding that these discussions did not only include oil and energy, but also encompassed political and economic strategy. Last week, Turkey and Nechirvan Barzani signed five trade contracts and one protocol for exploration of northern Iraq’s multi-billion-dollar hydrocarbon resources. As part of the deal, state- backed Turkish Energy Company (TEC), which Ankara set up to work in northern Iraq, has signed a contract to operate in 13 exploration blocks. In about half of those, it will team up with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil. The move comes amid news that a pipeline, which is linked to the existing Kirkuk- Ceyhan line, could begin pumping oil exports from Iraqi Kurdish as early as next month, infuriating Baghdad, which insists all energy sales should be made via the central government. 3 In response to Turkey’s move on energy contracts with the KRG, Baghdad barred Turkish private planes from flying to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on Nov. 30. A Turkish private plane flying to the Kurdish region was turned back late Nov. 29, a Turkish official confirmed. A written statement from spokesperson of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Levent Gümrükcü, followed the reports of airspace ban. Baghdad says Kurdish efforts towards oil independence could lead to the breakup of Iraq, and the dispute has also raised concern in Washington.