OREANDA-NEWS. Independent crude exports by Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region from the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan have risen sharply in early September from August levels.

During 1-11 September, the KRG shipped around 600,000-630,000 b/d of crude, according to preliminary loading data compiled by Argus. During August, KRG exports were only 367,000 b/d.

The higher rate is comparable to the 660,000 b/d the KRG exported during the same period in July. Sabotage-related damage on the Iraq-Turkey pipeline halted flows for nine days in August, reducing flows and cutting exports. The KRG said it piped 473,000 b/d of crude in August through the pipeline to Ceyhan, down from 517,000 b/d in July.

The KRG has yet to resume crude transfers to Ceyhan storage tanks leased by Somo, the official crude marketing agency of Iraq's federal government. Somo's last cargo of Kirkuk crude was shipped from Ceyhan on 19 July, and its Ceyhan tanks are empty.

But the KRG continues to pump crude on behalf of Somo to the Tupras-operated 113,000 b/d Kirikkale refinery in Turkey. Around 54,000 b/d of northern Iraqi crude has been piped by the KRG to Kirikkale during 1-12 September, comparable to the 58,000 b/d piped in August. Tupras is the sole Somo customer for which the KRG has been making crude deliveries.

Baghdad and Erbil had reached an oil export agreement in December last year, but disagreements over the size and timing of oil export revenue payments led to the KRG ramping up independent exports at the expense of crude transfers to Somo.