Page 16 - DMEA Week 01 2021

DMEA POLICY DMEA

Iraq approves budget, with

sticking points remaining

IRAQ IN late December, the Iraqi Cabinet gave its revenues.
approval to the government’s draft 150 trillion However, the KRG’s Deputy Prime Minister
Payments to the dinar ($103bn) budget for 2021 despite issues Qubad Talabani said on December 28: “If the
Kurdian Regional persisting about oil exports from the Kurdistan budget is approved, we, as the KRG, are ready
Government are Region. to deliver 250,000 bpd of Kurdistan Region oil
contingent on the region As with previous budgets, the Kurdistan through SOMO.”
handing over 250,000 Regional Government (KRG) should receive He noted that Erbil had “always wanted to
bpd of oil. 12.67% of the total budget, equating to around reach a comprehensive agreement with the fed-
$13bn, but there remain issues related to budget eral government.”
payments to Erbil being contingent on it hand- Wording in the budget saw Baghdad agree
ing over 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to cover the transportation costs of 250,000 bpd
to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization through the KRG’s export pipeline to Turkey as
(SOMO) and giving the revenues to the central well as the 100,000 bpd of crude from the Kirkuk
treasury. field that is already sent through the conduit. The
Earlier reports suggested that the KRG Baghdad-controlled section of the Kirkuk-Cey-
would have to provide SOMO with “unspecified han line remains unusable. Kurdish crude is fed
amounts of oil”. However, Middle East Oil & Gas into the main line at the Fishkhabour metering
(MEOG) understands from local sources that station near the Turkish border.
the semi-autonomous government may struggle Meanwhile, a report by Reuters quotes two
to hand over any oil having already transferred Iraqi government sources as saying that the state
its rights to market crude to trading houses to act budget deficit is anticipated to amount to 63 tril-
as guarantees for loans that have been in place for lion dinars ($43bn) in 2021.
around seven years. In an effort to ease the strain on state finances,
As such, the authorities were considering Baghdad’s central bank has also sought to
reducing the KRG’s cut of the budget by an devalue the dinar by increasing the US dollar to
amount equating to the value of Kurdish oil 1,460 dinars from 1,182 dinars. ™

South Korean-flagged tanker seized

by Iran in Persian Gulf

IRAN IRAN’S Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps The tanker was en route from Al-Jubail in
(IRGC) have seized a South-Korean flagged Saudi Arabia on its way to South Korea for alleg-
Iran cited tanker in the Persian Gulf allegedly for “causing edly breaking Iranian maritime law.
environmental pollution environmental pollution,” Iranian state televi- The tanker was carrying 7,200 tonnes of
as justification. sion IRIB reported on January 4. ethanol, with crew members from Indone-
The tanker, the MT Hankuk Chemi, was sia, Vietnam and Myanmar, all of whom have
stopped by Iranian naval authorities over the been arrested, Tasnim News Agency later
pollution allegation. It is the latest in a series of reported.
seizures by Iran’s military in the Gulf and Strait of The MT Hankuk Chemi has now been
Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with berthed at Bandar Abbas in Iran and the judici-
the Gulf of Oman and on to the Indian Ocean. ary is now reportedly dealing with the case.
The seizure of the vessel is believed to be The seizure of the tanker comes after Tehran
linked to withheld proceeds, held in Woori Bank only in May warned the US against “piracy” of
in Seoul, from Iran’s sale of oil and petrochemi- capturing its tankers on their way to Venezuela, a
cals to the country. US pressure on South Korea country to which Iran now sends gasoline.
has made it impossible for the East Asian nation Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the
to release the funds to Tehran. Gulf in 2019 after British forces detained an
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung- Iranian tanker off the UK’s overseas territory
wha is also expected to visit Tehran within the of Gibraltar. Both vessels were released after a
next week. month-long standoff. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 01 07•January•2021