London: Sources from the oil sector in the region said on Wednesday that Iraqi Kurdistan's sales of crude oil to world markets – which Baghdad considers illegal – is expected to rise by about 50% next month, with the start of transporting oil by trucks to a second export port in Turkey.
Crude exports from the Taq Taq oil field in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region began to reach the Turkish port of Mersin in early January, and now exceed more than 40,000 per day. The total is expected to reach 60,000 barrels per day by the end of June, when trucks unload their cargo at the neighboring port of Dortyol in southern Turkey.
Oil is the essence of the dispute between the Bagdad government and the Iraqi Kurdistan government. Baghdad says it has the right to control exports and the conclusion of transactions by itself, while the Kurds say that it's their right to do so as it's guaranteed by the constitution. [23/05/13]
