Iraq reached a deal with the Kurdish authorities on oil exports through Turkey , paving the way for increased shipments to international markets. The agreement allows the shipment of as much as 550,000 barrels a day of oil from northern Iraq to the port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean along a pipeline operated by the Kurds, Safeen Dizayee, a spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government, said today by phone. The deal will entrench the supply surplus on the oil market, according to BNP Paribas SA. The KRG has been shipping crude to Turkey this year in defiance of the central government. The government of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki initiated legal action to block sales, leaving tankers loaded with Kurdish oil stranded at sea. The nation exported its first cargo of Kirkuk crude last week since shipments were halted this year, according to a loading plan obtained by Bloomberg […]