Kurds inaugurate new oil project

ERBIL, Iraq, July 20 (UPI) -- The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq inaugurated the first deliveries of oil from its Khurmala Dome project through a pipeline to refineries in Erbil.

Oil from the Khurmala Dome project in Kirkuk is slated for a central processing plant and will then pass through a 25-mile pipeline to a refinery in Erbil.

The project has the capacity to handle 75,000 barrels per day, the Kurdistan Regional Government said it its announcement.

"Today we have become producers of energy, and we can provide for the fuel needs of our citizens," said KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. "These projects will benefit and serve the interests of all citizens in the Kurdistan region and throughout Iraq."

Meanwhile, Ashti Hawrami, the natural resources minister for the KRG, said the Khurmala Dome and other projects will go toward creating a self-sufficient Kurdish region in terms of energy.

Iraqi Kurdistan began oil exports from its Taq Taq and Tawke oil fields beginning June 1, depositing the revenue in federal coffers.

Natural resources from the Kurdish region of Iraq have been a point of contention between the KRG and the central government in Baghdad. Barzani sought to ease those concerns, saying his government is "ready and willing" to sit down with Baghdad to discuss the best way forward.