By Rowena Edwards
March 27 (Reuters) - Oil production in Iraq's
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region (KRI) is at risk after a halt
in northern exports has forced firms operating there to divert
crude to storage, where capacity is limited.
Iraq was forced to halt around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd)
of crude exports from the KRI on Saturday through an export
pipeline that runs from its northern Kirkuk oil fields to the
Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Turkey halted the pumping of Iraqi crude from the pipeline
after Iraq won an arbitration case in which it said Turkey had
violated a joint agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) to export oil to Ceyhan without Baghdad's
consent.
Oil firms operating in the region have been left in limbo as
they await the outcome of ongoing discussions between Ankara,
Baghdad and the KRG to find a way to resume exports.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum , which operates the 55,000
bpd Shaikan field in the KRI, said in a statement on Monday that
its "facilities have storage capacity that allow continued
production at a curtailed rate over the coming days, after which
the company will suspend production".
DNO and Genel Energy , which also operate in
the region, said they are currently storing oil in tanks, which
can accommodate several days of production.
Shamaran Petroleum , another operator, said in a
statement: "The company will remain in close contact with the
other oil producers in the Kurdistan Region and with relevant
government officials, and will continue to monitor this
situation closely."
(Reporting by Rowena Edwards; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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