Iraq has asked a U.S. federal court to enforce an arbitration award against Turkey over Iraqi oil exports via pipeline to Turkish ports, according to court filings.
Iraq was awarded damages in Baghdad’s case against Ankara for allowing the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to export oil between 2014 and 2018 without Baghdad’s consent as part of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration award last month.
The petition, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asks the court to “recognize, affirm, and enforce the final award of the arbitral tribunal.” The arbitration order prompted Turkey to halt oil shipments to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a pipeline that accounts for about 0.5 percent of global supply.
Baghdad considers the export of KRG through Ceyhan illegal. Iraq’s federal government and the KRG last week signed an interim agreement allowing Turkey to resume oil exports from the north, but deliveries have not yet begun, according to the operator.
Sources previously told Reuters that Turkey wanted to resolve another case covering the 2018 period before the pipeline reopened. Iraq said on March 25 that she had won the arbitration.
Turkey has been ordered to pay Iraq about $1.5 billion in interest in the judgment covering the period from 2014 to 2018, according to sources familiar with the case.
Three days later, Turkey’s energy ministry announced that the ICC had also ordered Iraq to pay Ankara compensation.
