Federal, Regional Governments Review Progress on Oil Exports

Iraqi Planning Ministry's Media

The KRG-Federal Government's meeting.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Dr. Mohammed Ali Tamim, chaired an expanded joint meeting on Tuesday, 19 August 2025 between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with the participation of several ministers, undersecretaries, and directors-general from both sides.

According to a statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, obtained by PUKMEDIA, the meeting reviewed progress on resolving outstanding issues between the two parties, including oil production and export, non-oil revenues, and the Nationalisation (localisation or Tawtin) of salaries for the Kurdistan Region's public employees in line with the Federal Court ruling.

The statement highlighted that “significant progress has been achieved, particularly on oil production and export from the Region, as all conditions and requirements to commence production and export through the State Organisation for Marketing Oil (SOMO) have now been met.” Participants agreed to continue discussions to finalise the remaining requirements on other pending matters.

The two sides previously reached a new agreement during an extraordinary session. Under the deal, salaries for May were disbursed in exchange for the KRG’s commitment to export 230,000 barrels of oil per day through SOMO, transfer 120 billion dinars per month in non-oil revenue, and expedite the process of nationalising salary payments for public employees.

While the agreement marked a major step forward in federal-regional cooperation, its implementation remains closely tied to the Region’s ability to ensure secure, consistent oil exports and meet its financial obligations to Baghdad.

Public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region continue to await the resumption of oil exports, which is expected to resolve ongoing salary delays and ensure timely monthly payments, in line with employees elsewhere in Iraq. While Iraq has already begun distributing August salaries, public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region are still waiting to receive their June salaries, and no official date has yet been set for payment.



PUKMEDIA