Iraqi crude oil exports will be resumed from the northern pipeline that runs through Turkey on Saturday, Iraq' Oil Ministry announced late on Thursday.
About 450,000 barrels of oil was trapped in Iraq’s Kurdish region in late March after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled on a long-standing complaint from Baghdad against solo export by the region.
On April 4, a deal was struck between Baghdad and Erbil to allow the federal government to market the oil produced from the Kurdish region. Baghdad and Ankara had been working to iron out technical hurdles.
On Thursday, Turkish authorities told Iraq that exports through Turkish port of Ceyhan will be restarted on Saturday, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said in the statement.
Mr Abdel Ghani said the federal State Oil Marketing Organisation finalised all the deals with the international companies to buy the oil.
The statement did not give details on how many barrels will be shipped.
The April deal stipulates that 400,000 barrels of oil a day will be exported from Kurdistan and handled by Somo. For the first time, Kurdistan will have a representative at Somo.
A committee comprising two representatives from the Ministry of Oil and the Kurdistan Regional Government's Natural Resources Ministry will oversee the marketing of Kurdish oil until this year's budget is approved.
Oil revenue will be deposited in a central bank account, or another bank, and will be overseen by Baghdad, but will be under the control of the KRG. Baghdad will have access to audit the account.
The dispute over who has the right to develop oil and gas resources in the Kurdish region was one of the thorny issues that marked post-Saddam Hussein Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion.
The Kurds had said Iraq's 2005 constitution gave them the right to sign agreements with oil companies and states without consulting Baghdad.
But Baghdad maintained the region had no right to sign deals and said exports had to go through state-run pipelines and be marketed by Somo.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Match info
Uefa Nations League A Group 4
England 2 (Lingard 78', Kane 85')
Croatia 1 (Kramaric 57')
Man of the match: Harry Kane (England)
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
