A member of the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament said "The cost of producing oil in the Kurdistan Region is $20 to $25 a barrel, while the cost of oil in Basra is $4 to $5 a barrel".

Muain Kazemi, a member of the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, told PUK media: "The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have agreed to increase the cost of oil production to $16".

He said, "The cost of producing a barrel of oil in the Kurdistan Region is very high, between $20 and $25, but in Basra it is between $4 and $5."

"The agreement between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on the oil production of the Kurdistan Region, consists of exporting oil to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey, under the supervision of SOMO, which belongs to the Iraqi Oil Ministry," he said.

He added, "In return, Iraq will pay oil production costs of $16 per barrel out of 400,000 barrels per day for the first phase, until the costs are reviewed in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government".

He added, "The oil contracts between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government with oil companies will be reviewed because the cost of oil production is very, very high compared to Basra oil".

On November 5, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq after 19 months of suspension.