The KRG deal: how the numbers add up

As oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has described it, the 14 November agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG – see main story) includes three provisions: one, Baghdad will make a budget payment of $500m; two, the KRG will export 150,000 b/d of crude through the federal system; and three, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani will then lead a delegation to Baghdad for further talks. This icebreaker involves a modest policy compromise for the KRG since it means exporting through the federal State Organisation for the Marketing of Oil, something it has pledged never to do again.