Turkey appealed to the Intrnational Chamber of Commerce ICC against $1.9 billion law suite
Turkish officials said on 14 September that they had appealed to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) against Iraq to overturn the arbitration demanding Ankara to pay damages for illegal oil imports from Iraqi Kurdistan.
“Our goal is to find an amicable solution to this issue, but the Iraqi side continues to take legal action. From a legal perspective, we must maintain control and protect our own interests. Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkiye's Energy Minister, told the media that a set-aside case will be filed in Paris.
By exporting crude oil to Turkiye without the approval of the Iraqi federal government, Kurdish authorities gained billions of dollars
A ruling by the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) in favor of Baghdad over illegal oil exports from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to Turkey led Ankara to halt oil flow through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline in late March.
According to the ICC, Turkey violated a 1973 pipeline transit agreement between Baghdad and Ankara and was ordered to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in damages for exports between 2014 and 2018. A second arbitration case is still pending, covering exports between 2018 and to date.
Baghdad has been requested to suspend the separate case regarding the period after 2018.
Despite Iraq receiving $1.9 billion in the suit, Turkey received $500 million for its counterclaims of low capacity at the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline and unpaid transportation fees. According to calculations Ankara made last week, Iraq must pay $956 million for damages.
According to the Turkish appeal, Ankara sent a letter to Baghdad demanding the payment as soon as possible in late August.
Turkey claims that the February earthquake caused significant damage to the pipeline, which remains closed.
Our attention was drawn to it because it was a warning signal. We decided, "We need to check everything. we have already checked Ceyhan's storage tanks and loading operations, but we decided to check the entire pipeline, 650 kilometers, two pipelines, from [Iraq] to Ceyhan," Bayraktar said.
Independent inspections are underway, and Turkey is preparing a report in case Iraq decides to sue for the halt of oil flow in the future.
"The independent surveyor has completed their survey, and now they are preparing their report," the minister said.
There have been negotiations between the two countries to resolve the dispute, and they have reportedly agreed to wait until maintenance work on the pipeline is completed before ending the dispute.
Additionally, Bayraktar said on 14 September that the northern oil export route would soon be "technically ready."
Turkey has been speculated to use oil negotiations against Baghdad, including water resources from the Euphrates River and Turkey's military presence in Sinjar and Kurdistan.
