Iraqi Kurdistan is gaining financial independence from Baghdad as it exports enough oil to pay its own way. The Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, is shipping directly to Turkey in defiance of the central government, which started withholding its share of state revenue in January in retaliation. Despite that, growing export earnings mean the Kurds last week promised regular payments to producers including Genel Energy Plc (GENL) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP) , providing a boost to the local oil industry. “We now have demonstrable evidence that exports from the KRG through Ceyhan is creating a sales channel, which is robust and working well for all parties,” Genel’s Chief Financial Officer Julian Metherell said over the phone today, referring to the Turkish port where Kurdish oil is loaded onto tankers. “We’ve now had almost 30 cargoes sold and that money is being repatriated to the KRG and is […]