The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has nearly finished constructing its own oil pipeline to the Turkish border, hoping to export Kurdish crude and secure a guaranteed revenue source independent of Baghdad. The pipeline is being sanguinely spun by the media, most industry analysts and the KRG as “independent”; it will circumvent Iraqi state authority, further enhance the KRG’s political and energy sector autonomy and enable international oil companies (IOCs) to fully monetize production. Yet, a deeper look at the KRG pipeline questions how independent it really is, or can become. Instead of bypassing Baghdad, the pipeline will be tied into the existing Iraqi state infrastructure. Consequently, official Iraqi Kurdish oil exports will not be made by a KRG fiat, but will result from a larger bargain between Erbil, Baghdad and Ankara, although one that affirms Iraqi sovereignty.
In some ways, the KRG pipeline is autonomous. It lies within Iraqi Kurdistan's official boundaries and is fully controlled by the KRG. The pipeline will also be linked to an independent metering station distinct from the current Iraqi-controlled station at the Feshkabor (Turkish) border. In this way, the KRG can monitor and control its own exports without intervention from the Iraqi government. At a minimum, the 400,000 barrel per day pipeline will function as an internal feeder line that provides a more cost-effective means to transport Kurdish crude to the Turkish border than current trucking operations.