
The ministry referred to the Iraqi budget that was never approved by parliament for 2014, amid a row between Baghdad and the country’s autonomous Kurdish region over natural resources and funds.
Oil prices have declined sharply since June, hitting the state coffers of energy-dependent countries.
Iraq is heavily reliant on oil exports, and the government is seeking to dramatically ramp up sales to fund the reconstruction of its battered infrastructure.
Baghdad considers the three-province northern region’s independent export of crude to be illegal, while Kurdistan says the federal government has failed to distribute required funding to the region.
On Friday, Kurdistan’s natural resources ministry announced the region had exported $2.87 billion in oil since the beginning of the year.
The ministry said it is treating the proceeds as part of the 17 per cent of the federal budget to which the region is entitled - which has been suspended by the federal government since January 2014.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2014.
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