The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) has expressed its satisfaction with the agreement reached between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO).

In a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), APIKUR announced, “APIKUR member companies agree with the statement made by KRG in their recent Council of Ministers meeting that direct sales agreements between international oil companies (IOCs) and SOMO offer the best option for resolving the current situation.”

The statement further emphasized the importance of these agreements providing IOCs with surety for payment through mechanisms such as upfront payment, escrow arrangements, or payments in-kind at Ceyhan.

The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) has made three proposals to resolve the payment of companies' financial entitlements.

The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR)'s first proposal is to pay the money at the beginning of oil exports. The second is by depositing money in an independent bank account as a guarantee. The third option is that the Iraqi government can give the companies their shares in the form of barrels of oil in the port of Jayhan instead of money.