DNO puts oil in storage after Iraq halts export via Turkey

Norwegian oil firm DNO has begun storing oil in tanks at fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq after Baghdad ordered a halt to exports via a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Prior to the shutdown the pipeline carried about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kurdish oil and another 70,000 bpd of Iraqi oil to global markets, DNO said.

Norwegian oil firm DNO has begun storing oil in tanks at fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq after Baghdad ordered a halt to exports via a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Iraq on Saturday halted crude exports from its northern region after the country won an arbitration case in which it said that Turkey violated a joint agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil to Ceyhan.

After the ruling Turkey stopped pumping Iraqi crude from the pipeline, a separate document seen by Reuters showed. A statement from DNO said it began diverting oil production from to storage on Saturday and that the tanks can hold "several days" worth of production.

"DNO notes from public reports that authorities in Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil are in discussion to reach agreements that will allow oil exports to resume," the Norwegian company said. Prior to the shutdown the pipeline carried about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kurdish oil and another 70,000 bpd of Iraqi oil to global markets, DNO said.

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