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Iraq is pushing to bring the country’s main northern export route from the north of the country back online, according to a statement from Amer Khalil Ahmed, the general manager of Iraq’s state-owned North Oil Company.

He has released a video of himself inspecting a pumping station that is part of the larger oil export system to take crude to the Port of Ceyhan via the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP).

The video was released with a statement saying that North Oil Company was “accelerating” the process to restart crude exports via the pipeline.

The ITP, which reopened on 27 September last year, was closed again during the days that followed the attack by the US and Israel on Iran on 28 February.

Exports via the pipeline fell to zero after production from the region dropped dramatically due to multiple oil fields that feed the pipeline closing amid safety concerns.

It is not known whether there are other technical reasons why the pipeline is not operational.

On 15 March, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) rejected accusations by Federal Iraq’s Ministry of Oil that the northern region was obstructing the resumption of oil exports through the ITP.

The MNR said oil and gas fields, refineries and energy infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region had been repeatedly targeted by “outlaw factions”, forcing a complete halt in production and leaving no crude available for export.

The ministry also accused Baghdad of failing to deter the attacks and claimed that some of the groups responsible receive funding and weapons from Iraq’s federal authorities.

Iraq’s oil and gas sector has been hit hard by the ongoing conflict that started on 28 February.

Iraqi oil production has collapsed, and the refining sector has also been severely impacted.

On 14 March, a drone strike triggered a fire at the Lanaz refinery in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, forcing authorities to suspend operations at the facility.

Videos circulating online showed a large fire and thick black smoke rising from the site.