By - Oct 25, 2013
Tony Hayward, the former BP Plc chief
executive officer who now heads Kurdistan’s largest oil producer, said
an export pipeline to Turkey is built, marking a turning point for the
self-governing region of northern Iraq.
“The Kurdistan Regional Government has completed a 36-inch pipeline,” Hayward, CEO of Genel Energy Plc,
said in a telephone interview yesterday. “The line has now been tied in
and commissioning is taking place. This is a major inflection point for
Kurdistan.”
Kurdistan,
whose economy has boomed with oil exploration since the fall of Saddam
Hussein in 2003, estimates its reserves at 45 billion barrels, enough to
meet U.S. needs for almost seven years. The new pipeline provides
unhindered access to international markets for the first time after
years of disputes with the government in Baghdad over export revenue.
