Iraq Agrees Oil Plan With Kurdistan as Export Deal Nears

Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a key step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.

The Kurdistan Regional Government will supply Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO at least 230,000 barrels a day for export, the federal government said after a meeting of the cabinet. On receiving the crude at Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, the export point of Kurdish oil, Baghdad will release funds for salaries of Kurdistan government employees.