Iraqi PM Plans to Announce a Timetable for US Withdrawal

The restart of a key Iraqi oil pipeline that’s been shut for over a year is being held up by disagreements over costs, the nation’s prime minister told Bloomberg, a setback that’s inadvertently helping the country get closer to its OPEC production limit.

Baghdad hasn’t been able to agree how much to pay international oil companies operating in the country’s north for their production.

The federal administration’s budget allows it to pay $8 for every barrel of oil produced, while contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government give the firms $26, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said.

The impasse has hit output from the region and delayed the pipeline’s resumption.