September 23, 2025
Concerns over rising supply following the announcement of a new export deal between Iraq’s central government, its Kurdish region, and oil companies has driven crude oil price down to below $66 per barrel in the global commodity market on Tuesday.
Brent crude was trading at $65.69 per barrel, which is 0.57% below the previous close of $66.07. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded for $61.93 at 0.53% below the $62.26 in the prior session.
Iraq’s Kurdish Regional, KRG, Administration had declared that a tripartite agreement would be signed between Iraq’s central government, the regional administration and oil companies to resume crude exports.
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Spokesperson for KRG, Peshawa Hawramani, told reporters that the long-standing dispute over oil exports had been addressed.
Hawramani, stated that the regional government, the central government and producing companies have reached an agreement and would sign a three-party contract.
On March 25, 2023, the Paris-based international arbitration court halted oil exports from the KRG and Kirkuk through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port after a lawsuit filed by the Iraqi central government.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, on June 25, criticized the suspension of crude exports from the region via Ceyhan due to the lawsuit brought by Baghdad.
Analysts argued that supply glut fears and uncertainty over demand outlook persisted in the markets, while the reactivation of the KRG pipeline is contributing to downward pressure on prices.
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Meanwhile, Iraq announced it had increased oil exports after gradually rolling back voluntary production cuts under the OPEC+ agreement.
The country’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said exports averaged 3.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in August and were expected to range between 3.4 million and 3.45 million bpd in September.
Market players are also awaiting the American Petroleum Institute’s forecast for US commercial crude inventories later in the day for clues on demand in the world’s top oil consumer.
By Wednesday, official inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration is expected to be released.
