"Baghdad and Erbil have agreed to restore oil exports from the oil field of Kirkuk through the pipeline of Kurdistan to the [Turkish] port of Ceyhan in the amount of between 50,000 and 100,000 barrels per day," the spokesman said.
READ MORE: Iraq, BP Sign Agreement to Expand Oil Production in Kirkuk — Source
In February, the region's governor, Rakan al-Jubouri, stated that there is a threat from so-called Daesh "sleeper-cells" in Kirkuk. At the end of 2017, Iraqi authorities declared victory over Daesh, noting, however, that the fight against remaining cells would continue.
Kirkuk Province is not part of Iraqi Kurdistan, but until recently the key infrastructure, including the oil and gas sector, was controlled by Kurdish armed groups. In mid-October, during an Iraqi forces operation, Baghdad was successful in re-establishing control of all oil fields belonging to the North Oil Company.
Iraq began its operation in Kirkuk a few weeks after the referendum on independence in Iraqi Kurdistan.