In a major but relatively unnoticed move, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has authorized crude oil exports to Turkey, with the aim of reaching world markets independent of the central government. KRG Minister of Natural Resources Ashty Hawrami told reporters in Arbil this week that crude oil had started to be trucked to Turkey as of Jan. 8.

The development is likely to increase tensions in the already strained ties between the Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad, as well as between Baghdad and Ankara. The development also comes despite strong disapproval from Washington, which worries that bypassing Baghdad risks the breakup of an Iraq already suffering from ethnic and sectarian rivalry.

“We don’t support oil exports from any part of Iraq without the appropriate approval of the Iraqi government,” State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters in early December. Washington is concerned that full control over the vast oil and gas reserves in Northern Iraq would encourage a Kurdish bid for independence.

Industry estimates indicate that the KRG is sitting on 30 percent of Iraq’s proven oil reserves of 143 billion barrels, and has up to 6 trillion cubic meters in natural gas reserves. If Kurdistan were independent, it would be among the 10 richest countries in the world, experts say.