The Kurdistan government in Iraq has delivered its first ever consignment of crude oil to Israel, reported Reuters on Friday.
The direct export of oil by Kurdistan has riled Iraqi authorities, who say that the oil trade must be conducted through Baghdad.
There was uncertainty of whether the oil tanker would be allowed to dock in the Israeli port of Ashkelon, however sources told Reuters that the ship arrived on Friday morning and the unloading of the shipment was underway.
“If that tanker docks, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will take an important step toward independence,” Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst at the Economic Policy Research Foundation in Ankara, Turkey, told Bloomberg, before the arrival of the ship was confirmed.
Baghdad has issued legal threats against the sales, but the Kurdish authorities have the blessing of their neighbour Turkey, through which a new pipeline has been exporting the crude oil.
The US is against the independent oil sales and has warned possible buyers against accepting the shipments.
Israel does not receive any oil from the Iraqi government, as it participates in the boycott of the country.
Turkey would support Kurdish independence in Iraq says Turkish government official (18 June 2014)